Coin specifications and design
Design identification
Obverse: Liberty facing right with more refined flowing hair and a sprig above the date.
U.S. Mint coin reference
1793 Wreath Cent
The Wreath cent replaced the Chain reverse during 1793 and is a one-year early copper type.
1793 Wreath Cent history notes
The Wreath cent replaced the Chain cent during the Mint’s first year of federal cent production. Its reverse wreath, obverse sprig, and several edge treatments distinguish it from the earlier Chain design and the Liberty Cap cents that followed later in 1793.
Authorship of the Wreath cent dies is not conclusively documented. Modern numismatic discussions have considered Robert Birch and Adam Eckfeldt among the possible hands involved; presenting two Mint employees as confirmed co-designers overstates the surviving evidence. Collectors identify the principal edge groups as Vine and Bars and the lettered ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR varieties.