Silver center pattern cents of 1792

The following is an excerpt from an Inside the Mint article by Tim Grant and Stephanie Meredith

The year 1792 was one of experimentation for the U.S. Mint. The Coinage Act of 1792 established a national mint and the monetary system of the United States, including all denominations of coins and their compositions. But before the first coins were struck for circulation, the new Mint needed to practice and experiment. Throughout 1792, the Mint produced pattern coins of some of the smallest denominations in high demand for circulation. One of these pattern coins was the silver center cent, which was an effort to reduce the amount of copper in the one-cent coin.

The Coinage Act set the composition of the cent to 264 grains of copper, the amount of copper needed to be worth one cent. That brought the coin’s diameter to 28 millimeters, larger than today’s 24-millimeter quarter. It would be an extremely large coin with minimal value and impractical for daily use. Moreover, the Mint had trouble buying copper for its new coinage. Copper was not only scarce, it was expensive.

In light of these circumstances, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and the Mint decided to make a pattern cent, different from what Congress had authorized. Chief Coiner Henry Voigt reduced the size of the cent to 21 millimeters — the size of today’s nickel — and placed a hole in the center of the copper. A silver plug filled the hole. Thus, the silver center coin contained one-quarter cent worth of copper and three-quarter cent worth of silver — equaling one cent. The Mint created another pattern cent using an alloy of copper and silver in the same proportions. The designs of these pattern cents had a bust of Liberty with flowing hair on the obverse and a wreath tied with a ribbon on the reverse.

To read the rest of the article, please click here.

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