1794 Liberty Cap Large Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 918,521 made
- Mintage
- 918,521
- Metal
- 100% copper
- Weight
- 13.48 g
- Diameter
- 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 a 1794 Liberty Cap Large Cent worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full red copper color (labeled RD) rather than brown
- 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 1794 Liberty Cap Large Cent rare?
- Somewhat. 918,521 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1794 Liberty Cap Large Cent?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1794 are scarcer?
- The 1795 (Reeded edge, 9 known) at 9, the 1793 at 11,056, the 1795 at 37,000, plus 2 more. So the 1794 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1794 Liberty Cap Large Cent coins were made?
- 918,521.
What to check on your 1794
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the hair curls around the face and the leaves of the wreath. Strong, even brown surfaces are prized. Many survivors are rough or corroded and trade at a fraction of a "choice" example.
Most surviving coppers from 1794 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.
The story of the 1794
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1794: 918,521 coins, about 83 times the 1793 run. In 1795 the figure was 9.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1794 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1795 (Plain edge) (501,500) and the 1796 (109,825).
Of the 6 Liberty Cap Large Cents Philadelphia struck between 1793 and 1796, none was made in bigger numbers. The scarcest Philadelphia issue is the 1795 (Reeded edge, 9 known) at 9. No Liberty Cap Large Cent of the 1790s had a bigger run.
1794 is the last year the Liberty Cap Large Cent was made in 100% copper. Check the edge or weigh it if you find one from the year after.
Thick planchets and the 1794 die bonanza (1793 to 1794)
Joseph Wright engraved the first Liberty Cap dies in the late summer of 1793. Only 11,056 cents of that design were coined before the year ended, making the 1793 Liberty Cap the scarcest cent of its date. Wright died of yellow fever that autumn, so the 1794 dies were cut by Robert Scot and his helpers. These coins were struck on heavy 208 grain planchets with the edge lettered ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR.
Output jumped to 918,521 in 1794. The Mint used dozens of die pairs to get there. Collectors still sort 1794 cents by portrait style (Head of 1793, Head of 1794 and Head of 1795) and chase oddities such as the No Fraction Bar reverse and the Starred Reverse, which has 94 tiny stars hidden in the border. A 1793 Liberty Cap is a true rarity in any grade, while 1794 survivors are more available but usually worn, dark and rough.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1794
Silver arrived in 1794 with the first Flowing Hair dollars, half dollars and half dimes. Fewer than 2,000 dollars were delivered that year because the Mint's press was too small for coins of that size.
How to recognize it
Liberty faces right with a pole over her shoulder topped by a liberty cap, an old symbol of freedom. LIBERTY is above and the date below. The reverse has a wreath around ONE CENT, the fraction 1/100 below and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the rim. Early coins have an edge lettered ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR; later coins are plain-edged and thinner.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Liberty Cap Large Cent (1793–1796) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1794 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 918,521 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 100% copper |
| Weight | 13.48 grams |
| Diameter | 29 mm |
| Edge | Lettered ("ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR") or plain |
| Designer | Joseph Wright; later dies by Robert Scot and John Smith Gardner |
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.