1838 Proof

The 1838 proof large cent was struck during the second-to-last year of the Coronet Head design on the large cent. The Mint produced over 6.3 million circulation-strike 1838 cents, one of the highest outputs in the series, but the proof was made in tiny numbers for a separate purpose entirely. By 1838, the Mint was approaching something closer to a formal relationship with the collector community. Proof sets were not yet sold as packaged products, but individual proof coins could be requested with increasing regularity.

The Mint itself was in the process of moving to its third building, a grand Greek Revival structure on Chestnut Street that would open in 1840. The old Mint on Seventh Street, where every Coronet Head cent had been struck, was nearing the end of its service life. The 1838 proof cent was made in that aging facility, on presses that had been supplemented with steam power just two years earlier. The coin preserves the Coronet Head portrait with mirror fields and complete device sharpness. Surviving examples are rare, but the 1838 is slightly less elusive than some of the earlier Coronet Head proof dates, reflecting the gradual increase in proof production as the collector market grew.