Braided Hair Large Cents

Christian Gobrecht designed the Braided Hair cent, the last of the large cent types and the one that carried the denomination to its end. Gobrecht had been working at the Mint in various capacities since the early 1820's, first as a contract engraver producing vignettes for bank notes and later as a salaried member of the staff. He formally succeeded Robert Scot's long-vacant position as Chief Engraver in 1840, though he had been doing the work for years before that. Gobrecht was the most talented engraver the Mint had employed up to that point, and his other credits included the Seated Liberty design that would appear across the silver denominations and the striking 1836 Gobrecht dollar. The Braided Hair cent was not his most ambitious project, but it was a solid piece of work. He took the basic Coronet Head layout that had been in use since 1816 and refined it, giving Liberty a tighter, more elaborately braided hairstyle, sharper facial features, and a generally crisper appearance. The reverse wreath received minor adjustments as well. The result was a coin that looked distinctly better than the Matron Head cents of the 1820's without being a radical departure from what the public was used to.