1845 Proof

The 1845 proof large cent was produced at the Philadelphia Mint for the small collector market that existed in the mid-1840s. Proof cents from this period were struck one at a time on a hand-operated screw press. The dies were polished to create the reflective, mirror-like fields that distinguish a proof from a circulation strike. The planchets were selected individually, rejecting any with surface flaws, pitting, or uneven color.

The mid-1840s saw the earliest stirrings of organized coin collecting in America. Collectors were scattered across the eastern seaboard, with small concentrations in Philadelphia (where proximity to the Mint was an advantage), New York, and Boston. Most collected by date, trying to assemble a run of cents from 1793 forward. The 1845 proof represents the Mint's accommodation of that small but growing interest. Surviving examples are rare, with most housed in advanced collections that have taken decades to assemble.