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The 1793 large cent – what they had there… was a failure to communicate.The 1793 large cent marked the debut of the US Mint. The coin was designed to celebrate the strength and unity of the states, now united. Accordingly, a chain of fifteen strong links, one for each state of the Union, is displayed upon its reverse side -- the goddess of Liberty on the obverse.So… strength and unity – what could be better?Somehow that message was misunderstood.Critics of the coin – and apparently there were many – complained that the chain motif conflicted with the Liberty goddess. The chain suggested bondage. One may speculate that this opinion was driven by slave owning legislators feeling a bit defensive as to their personal slave holding - the subject was already controversial – and wishing to avoid any allusion to this form of unpaid servitude. Others. at the time, disparaged the rendition of the Liberty goddess as untidy and lacking dignity – her hair blowing in a gale. Some referred to the coin as Liberty In Chains! Rare penny from the start…Opposition to what soon known as the Chain Cent, was enough to stop its production only twelve days after its start.Only 36,000 pieces were struck. Less than 2000 are estimated to have survived. So, this first US Mint coin is also the first rare US coin -- one of the rarest of the rare pennies produced by the mint in any time.
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