The Large Cents of 1839
Walkerguy21D
Posts: 11,444 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've always been fascinated with the transitional coins of the 1830's, as our coinage moved from the older classic styles designed by Robert Scot and John Reich to those designed by Christian Gobrecht.
This is what got me interested in 'Middle Date' large cents in the first place, eventually expanding my interest into both the later dates and the fascinating but tough early dates. But the watershed year of 1839 has always held special interest to me, as cents with five distinctive obverses were produced that year, containing the last of the 'old' and the first of the 'new', along with a couple of oddballs for good measure.
Here are a few specimens from my holdings, that hopefully the forum members will find interesting.
Sorry, no GTG, CAC, eBay trauma, etc. - just large cents!
The Newcomb (N)-1 coin of this year is the tough 1839/6. Most specimens are Fine or lower, and only a handful are known at or above the XF grade.
This coin is not only distinctive for it's overdate, but it's also the only coin of that year featuring Liberty with Plain hair cords (proving the die indeed was originally created in 1836). This is the die state II variety, with the single obverse die crack.
The 'Type of '38' is known with two die varieties, N-2 and N-3. These are not scarce and are fairly obtainable in higher grades of preservation.
This coin is readily identified by the lack of any forelock hair curls on the forehead, and the hair cords are beaded.
The 'Silly Head' is known with two die varieties. Also plentiful, these are identified by the strong hair curl (brow lock) on the forehead, and the long, pointed coronet very near to star 6, among other distinctions.
The 'Booby Head' has nine die varieties, several of which are very scarce. Also displaying the hair curl or brow lock, the coronet is shorter, and pointed toward the middle of space between star 5 and 6.
Last but not least, the '"39 Head of '40", the first of the Braided Hair design cents, in the 'Tipped' or 'Petite' head style. Only one die is known. It is quite distinctive from all the other varieties of cents issued this year.
Comments
It's a "pet collection" of mine to have the four types. I have the Silly head and the Booby head N-11. Both in EF 40. I am still working on it. Personally, I have many things going on at once when I see what I need and It's nice I buy it. Then, I save more money and start looking again.
Thanks for the informative post. Regards,
Great post. Those are very nice cents !
Makes me want to go and see if I have any 39's.......
Enjoyed this, thanks.
Excellent post! Thank-you for the recap. I never remember what I'm looking for when it comes to the 1839 Cents, so I don't think I've ever decided on one. Now I know why.
I knew it would happen.
The Cents of 1839 make for a very nice set all on their own! I've not owned the 1839/6, but I had a nice set of the other four varieties:
Head of 1838:
Silly Head:
Booby Head:
Head of 1840:
Well amazing post and amazing contribution by cardinal
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Wow, those look amazing!! This is definitely a history lesson for me! How'd they get nicknames like Silly Head and Booby Head?
Lovely coins and a fantastic post!
Cardinal - those are spectacular examples with excellent photography!
Makes my circs photo'd via a cell phone look like - well - circs taken with a cell phone.
How'd they get nicknames like Silly Head and Booby Head?
QD Bowers stated some years ago that he did not know, other than that the nicknames go back prior to 1900.
From CoinFacts, re: Booby Head: The nickname was first applied by Dr. Montroville Dickeson in 1859, then standardized in 1868 by Ebenezer Locke Mason, Jr.
Yep, Ebenezer Locke Mason, Jr. published that in 1868 in his Mason's Stamp and Coin Collectors Magazine (think of it as being the Rare Coin Review of the 19th Century):
Another great coin post... Really enjoyable to see such numismatically informative threads. Now I must see which 'heads' I have...
Cheers, RickO
I love the middle date cents although I've never owned a specimen. Once I complete my Buffalo Nickel collection I'll likely start collecting the series.
awesome post, i like
I love the middle date cents although I've never owned a specimen. Once I complete my Buffalo Nickel collection I'll likely start collecting the series.
I never liked large cents until I started building my 7070 and had to seek out 'nice' ones, instead of the rough junk I would see on the Sunday bourses and in the B&M's back in the '80's. I settled on the middle dates as you could get nice meaty examples of most of the dates w/o breaking the bank. Of course in retrospect, if I had pursued the earlier dates back then, it would have been a better financial decision, as the values of the middle dates have increased slightly in that time, but the early dates have exploded in price.
Nice post. Love the Large Cents of 1839. Here are some from my collection that I have pictures of.
Head of 1838
Silly Head
Booby Head
Petite Head
I need a head of 40 to finish my braided date set.Then going to work on 35-39.Looking forward to it.Great thread thanks for the pics
cardinal. dang. very nice coins!
I knew it would happen.
Hello,
Here's a pic of my only 1839. My guess is a 'Booby Head', just based on the large hair curl on the forehead. Is that correct ? Thanks.....
Yes, it's the Booby Head, but note that 3 of the 5 varieties have hair curls on the forehead.
But the Booby head also has the short coronet, pointing between the stars (though a little hard to see on the coin posted).
Very instructive thread, thanks!
This is the nicest Silly Head that I've handled:
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
Thank you......