Approx. when did Chain Cents stop circulating?

CaptainRon · September 28, 2008 12:39PM

Many circulated examples of these come up often for sale or auction, leading me to believe that they circulated for many many years before being locked away. At what time in history do you believe that these stoped circulating, and for what reason ie. The fluctuations in actual copper prices, or them finally being looked at a numismatic treasure. When did the chain cent become recognized and respected as a must have for a type classic coin cabinet.

GrumpyEd · September 28, 2008 12:46PM

My guess.....

They started to pull them and any large cents after 1857 when they saw how "small" the new cents were.

AnkurJ · September 28, 2008 1:23PM

I would say by the the early 1800s. They only made 15-18000, and the public hated the image of Liberty on both the chain and wreath. I think that by the mid 1800s, there would be very very few to be found in circulation. They are very worn and in bad shape due to the copper planchets used. Circulation would have something to do with it, but they were struck on crappy metal to begin with. The few MS examples were probably stored away shortly after being struck, as it was a very significant coin for the time. The first coinage for all of the United States.

AJ

291fifth · September 28, 2008 3:15PM

They probably continued to circulate until 1857, though in ever decreasing numbers as the slowly increasing coin collector population pulled the early cents from circulation.

dorkkarl · September 29, 2008 1:42AM

i would guess the were being used until around the time of the civil war

K S

lasvegasteddy · September 29, 2008 1:53AM

i'd suspect only that after some 20-25 years most were pulled as it was the first cent...at 20-25 years antique concerns would of dawned on most people too and at that point they would of been pretty uncommon to find

mgoodm3 · September 29, 2008 1:56AM

I got one in change last week.

BlindedByEgo · September 29, 2008 2:29AM

<< <i>I got one in change last week. >>

You're yanking my Chain...

BillJones · September 29, 2008 2:45AM

I would say that it was probably possible to see one right up until 1857 when the large cent production ended and the small cents came into circulation. I doubt that one saw very many of them after 1820, however. The coins by then had been in circulation for almost 30 years, which would have been their usual life span. And most of the pieces one would have seen at that date, would have not have had much left on the obverse given the shallow nature of the Chain Cent dies.

Coin collecting was not an American pastime with much of a following until 1857. Before then mostly Europeans collected American coins. It is for that reason that many of the better examples of the early coins were repatriated from Europe.

ambro51 · September 29, 2008 2:48AM

Thats an interesting question. One fact, up until 1857 a great hodgepodge of foreign, token and US coinage circulated freely and legally in this country. I would imagine even colonial coppers were still in active circulation. Large cents became the hottest collector coin in the 19th century, and probably most survivors we find today were hoarded out of circulation well before the civil war.

The softness of the pure (but sometimes poorly made) copper planchets contributed to the great degree of wear we find on most survivors today. If the coin had been lost, and then dug up after the advent of metal detectors after WW2, corrosion took its toll.

One thing for sure, they were a legendary coin then, as they are today.

wondercoin · September 29, 2008 3:06AM

Back in 1982/83, I bought a circulated large cent collection where each and every coin was collected from the cash register of a grocery store in the 1920's. Amazingly, this man's wife was able to find all but one or two dates from beginning with the 1794 coin through 1857. She was not able to find a 1793 though during that time period. I bought the deal about 26 years ago and still have yet to closely examine the coins for any varieties. I just thought the collection was so neat that I wouldn't want to break it up by selling a few coins if they turned out to be better varieties, so the easiest thing to do was not look at them at all! Wondercoin

Approx. when did Chain Cents stop circulating?

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