1793 Liberty Cap Left (Series 1)
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Designed by: Adam Eckfeldt (attribution not positive)
Issue Date: 1793
Composition: Copper
Diameter: 21.2 to 24.6 mm
Weight: 104 grains
Edge: Lettered TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR.
Business strike mintage: 35,334
Proof mintage: None
The obverse of the design portrays Miss Liberty, with features engraved in detail, facing to the viewer's left, with a liberty cap on a pole behind her head. The word LIBERTY is above, and the date 1793 is below. A circle of beads is around the outer edge.
The reverse consists of a wreath with leaves and berries, open at the top, and tied with a bow below. The denomination HALF CENT is at the center, while UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the fraction 1/200 comprises the border. A circle of beads is at the rim. Several die varieties were produced.
Adam Eckfeldt, who later became the Mint's second Chief Coiner and eventually Mint Superintendent, is believed to have originally produced the obverse motif following sketches by David Rittenhouse, first director of the Mint. The design was adapted from the famous Libertas Americana medal by Augustin Dupre, issued in France. This same general style was used on Liberty Cap half cents of 1794-1796 and cents of 1793-1796, except that the head is facing to the observer's right in these other issues
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