1846 Proof

The 1846 proof large cent was produced at the Philadelphia Mint in very limited numbers. The year 1846 saw the beginning of the Mexican-American War, an event that would expand the nation's borders to the Pacific coast. Copper cent production at the Mint continued on schedule, unaffected by the distant conflict, and the small number of proof coins struck for collectors came from the same dies used for circulation strikes, polished and prepared for specimen-quality impressions.

Proof cents of this era show the full detail of the Braided Hair design at its sharpest: every strand of Liberty's braid, every leaf in the reverse wreath, every letter crisp and complete. The mirror fields contrast with the frosted raised elements, an effect created by the polished die surfaces. Production numbers were tiny. The Mint kept no formal records of proof cent output in 1846, and survival estimates rest on census data compiled by later researchers. Fewer than two dozen examples are believed to exist across all grades.