Flowing Hair Wreath Cent

After public criticism forced the Mint to abandon the Chain cent's reverse design, the Flowing Hair Wreath cent took over in 1793, replacing the chain with a more conventional wreath. It remained in production only briefly before yet another redesign, the Liberty Cap cent, arrived later that year.

As one of the first three cent designs issued in the Mint's inaugural year, it is a cornerstone coin for early American type collectors and remains historically significant despite its short production span.

Following the outcry over the Chain cent's reverse, the Mint revised the design in mid-1793, keeping a similar Liberty portrait but replacing the chain with a laurel wreath, a more traditional and less controversial motif. The obverse was also slightly refined, with a small sprig of leaves added below Liberty's bust on most examples.

This Wreath type was itself short-lived, giving way later in 1793 to the Liberty Cap design as the Mint continued to experiment with cent imagery in its earliest years. Despite the brief run, more Wreath cents survive today than Chain cents, though the type remains scarce and historically important.

The obverse depicts Liberty facing right with flowing hair, similar in spirit to the Chain cent but usually paired with a small sprig beneath the bust; LIBERTY appears above and the date below. The reverse shows a wreath, often composed of vine and leaf elements, encircling ONE CENT and a fraction, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border.

Collectors distinguish varieties by edge type, including "Vine and Bars" edge and "Lettered Edge" (reading ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR) examples, and by minor differences in the wreath and lettering. The coin is a large copper piece consistent with other 1793-dated cents.

Because it was struck only in 1793 alongside the Chain and Liberty Cap types, context and edge inspection help confirm which of the three early cent designs a given coin represents.

While more plentiful than the Chain cent, the Wreath cent remains a genuinely scarce and desirable early American rarity, with even well-worn examples carrying significant value due to their age and historical role as one of the Mint's first coin designs. Sharp, well-centered, high-grade pieces are considerably rarer and more valuable.

Edge variety affects desirability, with certain edge types considered scarcer than others among specialists. As with other coins of this era and importance, third-party authentication is strongly recommended given the prevalence of counterfeits and the coin's substantial value.