1799

The 1799 large cent is the undisputed key date of the Draped Bust series, and one of the rarest and most valuable dates in all of American large cent coinage. The mintage of 42,540 coins is low by any standard, but the coin's rarity in the marketplace far exceeds what that mintage alone would predict. The survival rate is extraordinarily low. Most estimates place the total surviving population between 300 and 500 coins across all grades, with the vast majority in heavily worn condition.

Several factors contributed to the 1799's extreme rarity. The low mintage meant fewer coins were made. The Mint's copper coinage was still finding its footing, and production was inconsistent. The coins that were made circulated hard in an economy that needed copper change, and the soft copper composition wore quickly. Beyond natural attrition, the 1799 large cent may have been melted in larger numbers than other dates, though the specific reasons are debated.

Joseph Mickley, one of the nineteenth century's most famous collectors, pursued the 1799 cent with legendary intensity. It was his birth year. The coin had already been recognized as a rarity by the 1840s, barely four decades after it was struck. PCGS estimates 700 survive across all grades, but most are heavily worn. Only one uncirculated example is known: an MS61 Brown that was taken to England shortly after manufacture and did not return to America until the late 1920s. That coin sold for $977,500 at Goldberg's Dan Holmes sale in 2009 and for $540,500 at the Pogue sale in 2017. The next-best examples, a pair of XF45 coins, represent the realistic ceiling for collectors. An EF45 from the Husak Collection brought $161,000 at Heritage in 2008.

Counterfeits and altered dates are a serious concern. The 1799's high value creates a strong incentive for fakery, and altered dates (particularly from 1798 or 1790) are known. Any 1799 large cent purchased at key-date pricing should carry third-party certification. The investment in authentication is trivial compared to the coin's value, and the risk of buying a fraudulent piece without certification is substantial.