![]() ![]() The reverse presented a sparser laurel wreath than the preceding coinage, bearing single berries on individual stems. Wright turned Liberty to the right and replaced the beehive-like pileus with the soft Phrygian cap worn in ancient times by newly freed slaves to signify their liberation. It served its purpose well as a symbol of French support for the American cause. Commemorating American victories at Saratoga and Yorktown, the medal was a private project of statesman-philosopher Benjamin Franklin and was distributed to many VIPs on both continents. This famous early American medal bore a youthful Liberty facing left, her hair unbound and flowing in the wind, superimposed on a pole topped by a pileus, the helmet-like emblem of freedom. This criticism may have been on Wright's mind as he began his work.įor the Liberty Cap cent, Wright drew inspiration from a popular design, French medalist Augustin Dupre's 1783 Libertas Americana Medal. So it was most important that the public would accept the new cent, particularly since the Chain cent received such harsh reviews when first released. The citizens of the sprawling nation, only in its sixth year under the Constitution, thought in terms of Spanish milled dollars, state copper coins and private tokens (when they thought of coins at all). Most Americans had yet to see any of the new Federal coinage, still limited to cents and half cents. In August 1793, Wright began work at the Mint as an engraver and die-sinker under the renowned scientist, Mint Director David Rittenhouse.Ĭopper cents were still a novelty when Wright cut his dies. ![]() This third design was created by Joseph Wright, a New Jersey native and portraitist whose most famous works were his 1783 paintings of George and Martha Washington. They represent the third step in the infant Philadelphia Mint's quest for a permanent cent design, succeeding the Chain and Wreath cents that began the new decimal coinage early in 1793. The Liberty Cap large cents of 1793-1796 are the classics of early American copper coinage. Image Courtesy of Coin Community Members on eBay
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