MATRON HEAD CENTS 1816-1835
If one were to ask a collector of copper coins for an opinion of the worst design ever to grace a United States cent, there is little doubt that the coinage of 1816 through 1835 would be a strong contender. Yet even these “pledges of history” have a story to tell.
In the dark days of late 1814, towards the end of the War of 1812, the Philadelphia Mint ran out of cent planchets for coinage, and there was little of the precious metals on hand. The public was clamoring for coins of any kind, especially cents, but the Mint had none to give them. Peace came in early 1815, but it would be the better part of a year before the presses of the Mint would again be striking copper coins.
As soon as peace was declared, Mint Director Robert Patterson lost little time in writing Matthew Boulton in Birmingham, England, for a fresh supply of cent planchets. The Mint had not made its own since 1801, and the Boulton firm had supplied virtually all of the copper cent and half cent planchets used by the Mint since 1798.
In those days mail went slowly across the Atlantic Ocean, and it was several weeks before the letter from Patterson reached its
