1792 Cent Pattern - J-1a, No Plug

Coin Details

Auction Record

$446,500 MS62 01-07-2015 Heritage Auctions

Description

Cataloged as Judd-1a, this variety of the 1792 cent pattern shares the same dies as the famous Silver Center Cent (Judd-1) but was struck without the distinctive silver plug at the center. The obverse shows Liberty facing right with flowing hair, surrounded by LIBERTY PARENT OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY and the date 1792. The reverse features a wreath enclosing ONE CENT with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and 1/100 around the border. Struck in plain copper with no center plug. This "no plug" variety represents either a trial impression made before the silver plug was inserted, or a specimen where the plugging step was intentionally omitted — as one of the comparison pieces Thomas Jefferson described in his December 1792 letter to Washington, where he noted that Mint Director Rittenhouse would "make of copper alone of the same size" alongside the silver-plugged versions. The coin served as a visual demonstration that without the silver center, the small planchet could not contain a full cent's worth of metal, helping to illustrate the rationale behind the silver center concept. Extremely rare, with only a few examples confirmed.