1846 Medium Date

The 1846 Medium Date large cent uses date numeral punches of intermediate size, between the Small and Tall Date varieties. The three date sizes for 1846 (Small, Medium, Tall) represent different punch selections across the year's die pairs. The die sinker prepared each working die by hand, impressing individual numeral punches into the steel to form the date. Different punch sets in the Mint's inventory produced different-sized digits, and 1846 saw all three used.

The Medium Date is the standard issue for the year. The Philadelphia Mint produced 4,120,800 large cents dated 1846, divided among the three date varieties. The Mexican-American War had begun in May, and the nation was expanding its military presence along the Rio Grande and into Mexico. Copper cent production at the Mint continued on its normal schedule, unaffected by the distant conflict. The 1846 Medium Date is available in circulated grades without difficulty, with most survivors falling in the Good to Fine range.