Owner Comments:
The last design to grace the large cent series bore a strong resemblance to the two and a half and five dollar gold coins of the period. Like Christian Gobrecht’s other designs, Ms. Liberty had no cheekbones although your author finds her face a bit more pleasing that the one found on the gold coins, especially the half eagle.
The mintages for these coins were modest by modern standards, reaching a high of just over 9 million pieces in 1851. This 1856 large cent, with the upright 5, is among the more common dates and varieties with a mintage of almost 2.7 million. Despite the limited mintages, these coins are common in the circulated grades and even fairly common in Mint State. The simple fact was large cents were never very popular and were minted in limited quantities. This coin is in an exceptional level of preservation with virtually mark-free surfaces with over 80% of the original mint red remaining.
By 1857 the mint was having trouble justifying the continued issue of the large cent. The metal content of the coins was driving up mint expenses, and the coins were not circulating very well. In 1856 the mint issued a large number of the pattern Flying Eagle cents. By the middle of 1857 the small cent, with the Flying Eagle design, because the official cent as the era of the “big pennies” came to a close.