Large cent

The wartime embargo against shipments made it so the mint could not get any new copper planchets, which were imported from Great Britain, to strike coins.

Its low survival rate, in addition to its small mintage, coupled with being the first regular federal issue and a one-year design and type, has created an extremely strong demand from generations of numismatists.

As a result, all surviving specimens command high prices ranging from $2,000–3,000 in the absolute lowest state of preservation to over $500,000 in the highest.

Liberty's bust was redesigned with even longer, wilder hair, and the chain was removed from the reverse in favor of a wreath.

Rittenhouse was dissatisfied with Eckfeldt's designs, and with the criticism of the Chain cents fresh in his mind, he hired Joseph Wright to do yet another redesign in the denomination's troubled first year.

[7] Robert Scot redesigned the whole of United States coinage for 1796, applying a new design featuring a bust of Liberty wearing a drapery at the neckline and a ribbon in her flowing hair.

While not genuine 1804 cents, they are sometimes collected along with the originals and are listed in various numismatic magazines and A Guide Book of United States Coins.

The copper used during the years in which Classic Head cents were minted was of a higher quality, containing less metallic impurity.

As a result, unimpaired, high-grade specimens are especially difficult to obtain and fetch strong premiums when they appear on market, especially with original red or red-brown mint luster.

As a response to public criticism of the Classic Head, the Mint assigned Chief Engraver Scot to redesign the cent in April 1815, after the War of 1812.

This last major change to the coin updated the obverse by giving Liberty a slimmer, more youthful appearance.

[12] With the plethora of varieties, errors, and die states for these early coins, they are a popular collecting endeavor today.