1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 37,000 made
- Mintage
- 37,000
- Metal
- 100% copper
- Weight
- 10.89 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 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1795 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:
- 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 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent rare?
- Yes. Only 37,000 were made, 3rd lowest of the 6 regular issues in the series.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent?
- No mint mark. All struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1795 are scarcer?
- The 1795 (Reeded edge, 9 known) at 9, the 1793 at 11,056. So the 1795 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent coins were made?
- 37,000.
What to check on your 1795
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- 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 1795 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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1795
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1795: 37,000 coins, about 4111 times the 1795 run. The next year it made 501,500 (1795).
The other mints made far more that year: 1795 alone came to 501,500, roughly 14 for every 1795. If you're checking a pile of 1795 coins, the mint mark is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1796 (109,825) and the 1793 (11,056).
Only the 1795 (Reeded edge, 9 known) and the 1793 have a lower mintage among Philadelphia's 6 Liberty Cap Large Cents. Within the 1790s it's 3rd smallest of 6, between the 1793 (11,056) and the 1796 (109,825).
It also marks a change of metal: 1795 is the first year of the Liberty Cap Large Cent in 100% copper, which lasted until 1796.
Lighter cents and a plain edge (1795 to 1796)
Rising copper costs led to a weight cut to 168 grains, confirmed by a presidential proclamation in January 1796. The year opened with cents carrying the lettered edge (about 37,000 recorded). The lettering was then dropped as planchets grew thinner. Plain edge cents made up most of the year with a reported 501,500 pieces. A reeded edge 1795 is known in only a handful of examples. The so called Jefferson Head cent of 1795, made by John Harper outside the Mint, is collected alongside the regular issues but is a separate piece.
In 1796 the Liberty Cap portrait shared the year with the new Draped Bust design. Only 109,825 Liberty Cap cents were reported before the switch. The thinner 1795 and 1796 planchets wore faster, so these dates are most often seen in Good to Fine with smooth, flattened hair. Because the Mint was still learning to make dies, many 1795 and 1796 cents show die cracks, clashing or weak centers, details that help specialists attribute each die marriage.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1795
Gold coinage began in 1795 with the first $5 half eagles and $10 eagles. Late in the year the Draped Bust portrait by Gilbert Stuart replaced the Flowing Hair design on the silver dollar.
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 | 1795 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 37,000 |
| Face value | 1¢ |
| Composition | 100% copper |
| Weight | 10.89 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 |
Other 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent | 37,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent (Plain edge) | 501,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1795 Liberty Cap Large Cent (Reeded edge, 9 known) | 9 | Circulation strike | – |
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.