1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent Proof
Proof struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 12 made
- Mintage
- 12
- Metal
- 100% copper
- Weight
- 10.89 g
- Diameter
- 28–29 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent Proof worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1829 sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
What would make yours worth more:
- Grade and, for proofs, strong cameo contrast
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent Proof rare?
- Fairly. The Mint made 12 for collectors. Most were kept in their original packaging.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- How many 1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent proofs were made?
- 12.
What to check on your 1829
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Judge the grade under good light. Wear first shows on the hair curls, the coronet and the leaves of the wreath. Mint-red coins exist from hoards, but most survivors are brown.
Most surviving coppers from 1829 show some corrosion, scratches or porous surfaces. Smooth, evenly toned coins are much scarcer than the mintage suggests, so surface quality matters as much as the grade. Proofs from 1829 were struck one at a time in small numbers and many were later spent or mishandled. Look for hairlines from cleaning, which lower the grade.
The story of the 1829
Date and letter size varieties (1828 to 1834)
Mintages stayed between roughly 1.4 and 3.4 million each year as commerce expanded. This is a period of small but collectible changes in the punches: the 1828 has a Large Narrow Date and a Small Wide Date, while the 1829 comes with large letters and medium letters on the reverse. The 1834 combines large or small 8 with large or small stars in several pairings.
Collectors usually identify these cents by Newcomb numbers, from Howard Newcomb's reference on cents from 1816 to 1857. Proofs continue in tiny numbers and are rarities for every date. Better made planchets mean circulated coins from these years often look smoother than earlier Coronets. The dentils and stars tend to be sharper. Uncirculated pieces are scarce for most dates in this group, since there was no large hoard as with the earlier years.
How to recognize it
Liberty faces left wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, with 13 stars around her and the date below. Collectors call the early version the Matron Head because of her mature features. The reverse is a continuous wreath around ONE CENT with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the rim. Later dates use a slightly younger portrait and finer details.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent (1816–1839) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1829 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Proof |
| Mintage | 12 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 100% copper |
| Weight | 10.89 grams |
| Diameter | 28–29 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
Other 1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent | 1,414,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1829 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent Proof | 12 | Proof | – |
Mintage: United States cent mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.