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1821
| Weight | 10.89 g |
| Diameter | 28.5 mm |
| Mint | Philadelphia |
| Strike | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 389,000 Combined mintage for all 1821 varieties |
| Edge | Plain |
| Alignment | ↑↓ Coin |
| Composition | 100% Copper |
| Melt value | — |
| Designer | Robert Scot / Christian Gobrecht |
| Collector's Key ID | CK-185 |
Collection
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No additional varieties recorded for this strike.
External references
The 1821 large cent is a semi-key date in the Coronet Head series, with a mintage of 389,000 coins. The figure is low enough to make the 1821 noticeably scarcer than the surrounding dates, and the coin carries a premium that reflects its relative difficulty. Finding a problem-free 1821 in Fine requires active searching, and higher grades are genuinely uncommon.
The 1821 sits in the early Coronet Head period, after the post-war resumption in 1816 but before the higher-mintage years of the late 1820s and 1830s. Copper supply fluctuations continued to affect production levels, and the 1821's modest output reflects a year when the Mint's copper stock was limited.
Most surviving 1821 large cents show significant circulation wear. Good to Very Good is the typical grade range, with Fine representing a coin that took some effort to locate. The semi-key premium is consistent across all grades, driven by the low mintage and the corresponding scarcity in the marketplace.
For a collector building the Coronet Head date set, the 1821 is one of the dates that requires more patience and a larger budget than the common years. It is not the series key (the 1823 holds that position) but it is the secondary bottleneck that separates casual date collectors from committed ones.
Reference data only — not an appraisal.
| Grade | Description | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-4 | Good (G) | $67 | $77 |
| VG-8 | Very Good (VG) | $121 | $140 |
| F-12 | Fine (F) | $245 | $280 |
| VF-20 | Very Fine (VF) | $435 | $500 |
| EF-40 | Extremely Fine (EF) | $1,220 | $1,410 |
| AU-50 | About Uncirculated (AU) | $2,255 | $2,600 |
| MS-60 | Uncirculated (MS) | $7,900 | $9,115 |
| MS-63 | Choice Uncirculated (MS) | $26,280 | $27,830 |
How much is a 1821 Coronet Head Large Cent worth?
How many 1821 Coronet Head Large Cents were minted?
What is a 1821 Coronet Head Large Cent made of?
What is the melt value of a 1821 Coronet Head Large Cent?
Is the 1821 Coronet Head Large Cent a key date?
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