"Copper oxidizes differently in different atmospheres, and the way it colors and weathers depends also upon the impurities and traces of other metals which it may contain. The copper that went into the early cents must have been of highly variable assay, recruited as it was from almost every possible source. Some came from Sweden, some from England, some was obtained by melting up copper nails, spikes, and copper finishings from wrecked ships (including both British and American men-of-war). Some of it came from kitchen and other household utensils donated or sold to the Mint in response to urgent appeals. George Washington is said to have donated `an excellent copper tea-kettle as well as two pairs of tongs' early in 1793 for the first cents. It is not surprising, therefore, that to some extent the different early die varieties are recognizable by characteristic color and surface texture, as well as by die breaks, peculiarities of the planchets, and so on. Every early cent has a character of its own.

"These three factors - plentifulness of the coins, nearly inexhaustible variation both in number and in condition of the dies, and the intrinsic beauty and variability of old copper -account in part at least for the unique regard in which early copper cents have been held."

Cents and collectors: While large cents have not appealed primarily to the investor, but to the collector, there is no doubt that tremendous investment profits have gone to those who have carefully built up cabinets of large cents and who have held them for a period of years. When Lester Merkin sold the Louis Helfenstein collection at auction in the 1960s, dealers and collectors alike scrambled to pay record prices for large cents, and many pieces which had been held for just a year or two brought more than double or triple the price the owner had paid. Similarly, when Superior Galleries sold the Robinson S. Brown, Jr., collection in 1988, large cents attracted as much attention when they crossed the block as any Morgan silver dollars or other investment series ever did. In 1992, when Eric Streiner marketed the memorable Naftzger collection of early large cents for fixed prices, many pieces changed hands at record levels. A major buyer was Jay Parino, who has named his dealership The Mint.

Early large cent types and varieties: The first large cents made their appearance in early 1793 and were of the Chain type, so called from a circle of links on the reverse, enclosing the denomination ONE CENT and the fraction 1/100. On what are believed to be the very first issues, the name of our country was abbreviated as UNITED STATES OF AMERI. The obverse depicted Miss Liberty, with flowing hair, facing right. A contemporary newspaper account described the chain device as an ill omen for a country proclaiming its liberty. Perhaps because of this and related sentiments the reverse design was soon changed to a wreath and Miss Liberty's portrait was modified, creating another type. Toward the end of the year 1793 the Liberty Cap device was introduced, a style which was continued through early 1796.