Modified Matron Head Coronet Head Cents 1835-1839

In 1835 the Mint hired Christian Gobrecht as second engraver, to help the ailing chief engraver William Kneass. Gobrecht's first change to the cent was a slimmer, younger Liberty in place of Robert Scot's heavy Matron Head of 1816. It arrived partway through 1835: NGC counts six 1835 obverse dies with the old head, known as the Head of 1834, and five with Gobrecht's new one, the Head of 1836. Every cent of 1836 has the new head.

Gobrecht kept adjusting the design. In 1837 he replaced the plain cords that tie Liberty's hair with beaded ones, the Head of 1838, and some 1837 reverses use smaller lettering. Both changes overlap in 1837, so collectors sort that year into Plain Cords with Medium Letters, Plain Cords with Small Letters, and the beaded Head of 1838. Every 1838 cent has the beaded cords.

1839 brought the most variety of all. NGC counts five portrait styles that year: a leftover 1836 obverse re-dated 1839/6, the Head of 1838, two modified heads nicknamed the Silly Head and the Booby Head by early collectors, and finally the Petite Head, the first of the Braided Hair cents, which belongs to the next series.

Mintages climbed from 2,111,000 in 1836 to 6,370,200 in 1838, all struck at Philadelphia; the branch mints at Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans, which opened in 1838, never struck cents. The 1835 and 1839 figures each cover more than one design: the 1835 total includes the Head of 1834 coins, and the 1839 total includes the Petite Head.

The Mint also struck a few proof cents for collectors in these years, without recording how many.

Obverse. Liberty faces left, wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, with thirteen stars around her and the date below. Compared with the Matron Head of 1816 to 1835, Gobrecht's head is trimmer and more youthful.

Hair cords. The Head of 1836 ties the hair bun with plain cords; the Head of 1838 uses rows of beads. A magnifier on the cords behind the coronet settles which head a coin has.

1839 heads. The Silly Head has a lock of hair that juts out over Liberty's forehead. The Booby Head shows Liberty's bare shoulder below the neck. The 1839/6 is the only 1839 with plain cords.

Reverse. A wreath encloses ONE CENT with a line below, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs around the edge in medium or small letters.

Mint mark. None. Every large cent was struck at Philadelphia.

Newcomb numbers. Each die pairing has a number from Howard Newcomb's United States Copper Cents 1816-1857, such as N-9 for the 1839 Silly Head with a crack across the face.

• 1835 Head of 1836: Gobrecht's head on five 1835 obverse dies. The Head of 1834 coins of the same year are in the Matron Head series. The Mint struck 3,878,400 cents dated 1835 in all.
• 1836: 2,111,000 struck, from seven die marriages (NGC).
• 1837: Plain Cords, Medium Letters, Plain Cords, Small Letters and the Head of 1838 with beaded cords. The 5,558,300 figure covers all three.
• 1838: 6,370,200 struck, from 15 die marriages (NGC).
• 1839/6: N-1, a leftover 1836 obverse with plain cords, re-dated for use in 1839.
• 1839 Head of 1838, Silly Head and Booby Head: the three later heads of the year. The Mint's 3,128,661 cents for 1839 include the Petite Head coins of the Braided Hair series.
• Proofs: 1836 (one-sided proofs of N-3, and a few of N-6), 1837 (several die pairs, both heads) and 1838 (all N-11). No proof mintages were recorded.

• Composition: copper
• Weight: 10.89 grams
• Diameter: about 28 to 29 mm (NGC); Wikipedia gives 29 mm
• Edge: plain