1818 1C, RD MS60RD Certification #-38237, PCGS #1602

Ron Guth

The 1818 Large Cent is the second most common date of the Matron Head Cents based on the populations of those certified by PCGS.  It is easily the most common date in Mint State thanks to the Randall Hoard, from which most of these coins originate.  The hoard of thousands of Cents dated from 1816-1820 was named after John Randall, a Georgia merchant who claimed to have found the coins after the Civil War, buried in the ground.  The hoard was disseminated by Edward Cogan, a dealer of some renown, who later had to defend the Randall Hoard coins against accusations that they were restrikes.  Apparently, dealers and collectors could not believe that full red Large Cents could have survived in such large quantities.  

Today, most Uncirculated 1818 Large Cents are of the Brown designation.  Less than a fourth of the examples certified by PCGS have earned the Red-Brown designation.  Those that are full Red are very rare.