1830 Medium Letters

The 1830 Medium Letters variety uses the more compact reverse letter punches. The two letter sizes for 1830 are collected as separate varieties, and neither is dramatically scarcer than the other. A collector pursuing both will find each available with moderate searching.

The year 1830 saw the Indian Removal Act signed into law, authorizing the forced relocation of Native American nations from the southeastern United States. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, America's first common-carrier railroad, began regular passenger service. The country's population was growing rapidly, and its economy was expanding westward. The Mint in Philadelphia remained the sole producer of U.S. coins, and its output of large cents served the commercial needs of a nation where copper was the everyday metal of exchange. The 1830 cent, with its compact reverse lettering, is an artifact of that expanding economy, struck in a building that had been producing American coinage since George Washington's presidency.