1823

The 1823 large cent is the key date of the Coronet Head series. No official mintage figure exists for 1823-dated coins. The Mint's production records lumped cents by calendar year of delivery, not by the date on the die, and many of the cents delivered in 1823 were likely struck from 1822-dated dies. The actual number of coins bearing an 1823 date may have been a small fraction of the reported annual delivery, which would explain the coin's extreme scarcity. The standard issue is actually the 1823/2 overdate, where traces of a 2 are visible beneath the 3.

Whatever the cause, the practical result is a coin that is rare in any grade and genuinely difficult to find in problem-free condition. Good to Very Good is the typical grade range for surviving examples. Fine is a coin that attracts attention at auction. Very Fine and above enters condition-census territory, where individual specimens are known and tracked.

The 1823 also exists as the 1823/2 overdate, where the final digit was punched over a 2. Both the standard date and the overdate are key rarities, and a collector who wants either version must be prepared to search and pay accordingly. The 1823 is the coin that separates casual Coronet Head collectors from serious ones, the date that takes real effort and real money to acquire.

Counterfeits and altered dates exist for the 1823. The coin's value creates a financial incentive for fraud, and altered dates (particularly from 1828 or other similar-looking years) are a known risk. Third-party certification is essential for any 1823 large cent purchased at key-date pricing.