Braided Hair Large Cent

The Braided Hair large cent is the final design in America's series of big copper one-cent pieces, struck from 1839 until the denomination was retired in 1857. The obverse shows Liberty facing right wearing a beaded coronet inscribed LIBERTY, her hair drawn back in a tight braid and surrounded by thirteen stars, with the date below. The reverse displays the words ONE CENT enclosed in a laurel wreath, framed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The photographed example is dated 1850, a middle-period date squarely within the type's most available years. As a large cent it is a substantial coin of pure copper, noticeably bigger and heavier than the small cents that replaced it. Collectors value the series for its handsome classical portrait, its long run of collectible dates, and its status as the end of an era for U.S. copper coinage.

The large cent was authorized under the Mint Act of 1792 and struck continuously from 1793 onward in a succession of designs. The Braided Hair type, engraved by Christian Gobrecht, replaced the earlier Coronet (Matron Head) cent in 1839 and refined Liberty into a more youthful, neatly braided portrait. Minor portrait variations across the run are collected as the 'Petite Head' (earlier years) and 'Mature Head' (later years).

Throughout the 1840s and into the 1850s the design changed little, giving a stable run of dates including the 1850 example shown here. By the mid-1850s the rising price of copper made the heavy cent increasingly costly to produce. Congress responded with the Coinage Act of 1857, which ended the large cent and introduced the smaller Flying Eagle cent in a copper-nickel alloy. All Braided Hair large cents were struck at the Philadelphia Mint and therefore carry no mint mark.

Look first at the obverse: a right-facing Liberty head wearing a beaded coronet lettered LIBERTY, with hair gathered into a distinct braid, encircled by thirteen stars and with the four-digit date at the bottom. The reverse must read ONE CENT inside a closed laurel wreath, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the rim. This wreath-and-legend reverse distinguishes it from earlier large cents that used a different wreath or lettering arrangement.

Size and metal are decisive. A large cent is pure copper, roughly 27–29 mm across (about the diameter of a modern U.S. quarter to half dollar) and much larger than the small cents introduced in 1857. If the coin is that big, copper-brown, and shows the braided coronet head over a laurel wreath, it is a Braided Hair large cent. The date and any die variety are read directly from the coin; there is no mint mark to find.

Braided Hair large cents are among the more affordable 19th-century U.S. type coins because millions were struck across the 1840s and 1850s and many survive. Common dates in worn but honest grades (Good to Fine) typically trade in the low tens of dollars, with clean problem-free examples and higher grades commanding progressively more. An 1850 like the one pictured is a plentiful date, so condition, surfaces, and eye appeal drive the price more than rarity.

Premiums rise sharply for high-grade Mint State pieces with original color, for scarce dates and die varieties, and for certified examples. Conversely, corrosion, cleaning, porosity, or heavy rim damage—common on old copper—substantially reduce value. Any specific price should be checked against a current price guide or recent auction results, as copper markets and grade premiums shift over time.