U.S. Mint coin reference
Obverse: Liberty faces right with long flowing hair and a small three-leaf sprig behind the portrait. LIBERTY is above and 1793 below.
Reverse: A botanical wreath encloses ONE CENT, with 1/100 below and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border. Edge devices vary by die variety.
The Wreath cent followed the short-lived Chain cent in the spring of 1793. Its reverse replaced the chain device with a wreath, while a sprig behind Liberty’s head gives the obverse an immediate visual distinction from the earlier type.
All examples were struck at Philadelphia during the Mint’s first calendar year of coinage. The design went through numerous hand-cut dies before the Liberty Cap cent appeared later in 1793, so the Wreath type belongs to only a portion of that single year.
Most Wreath cents carry a Vine and Bars edge, while a smaller group has the lettered inscription ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR. Specialists attribute the dies by details such as leaf placement, lettering, and stem arrangement. The rare Strawberry Leaf obverses are the best-known departures from the usual three-leaf sprig.