A coin in a mid grade with a great look, not a tough variety but just nice with some trivial marks; purchased from Ann Filsinger. Comes with a double line over LIBERTY; on this example this is clear over ERTY but worn smooth over LIB. The first year of the Matron Head cents.

A nice 1816 that came out of the Internet-only part of the Jules Reiver sale. It was labeled "Environmental Damage", but I thought this was a bit harsh as it has pretty good eye appeal.

A nice coin I purchased from an EAC member. Close date with a small die crack from the bust tip to the rim. This is a scarce R4 variety. Formerly owned by John Wright, which I thought was neat since he wrote the book (literally) on the middle dates!

An eBay purchase. The bottom of the 8 in the date is unfinished; hence the moniker "Pincer 8". A scarce variety, and especially tough with the mouse break. This specimen doesn't have the full mouse, but the start of the break, which shows up as just a tiny dot above Miss Liberty's head. In the September, 1993 issue of PennyWise (thanks John Wright!), Jay Miller states that each of the four "mouse" varieties can be found in this so-called "peeking mouse" state. (Jay owns an N3 and an N8 in the "peeking mouse" die state.)

In mid-2007, Chris Victor-McCawley, copper dealer extraordinaire, posted a note that he had some duplicate cents from the Dan Holmes collection. This one was on the list, without a photo, and I took a chance on it. Great coin with excellent detail.

I bought this off eBay from an EAC dealer. Nice, low-grade specimen. This is one of four 1817 cents that comes with a "mouse" die break on top of the head. One of my first middle dates.

If there was ever a fun year to collect in the middle date series, I would choose 1817. Die cracks, mice, 15-star obverses, this date has it all. This coin came out of the Jules Reiver Internet-only auction.

I bought this on eBay with a "Buy it Now", which I rarely use because the "Buy it Now" price is almost always too high. Not this time. A pretty common variety, but always in demand because of its uniqueness. This is a nice, no-problem specimen.

A nice coin I purchased from an EAC guy. The middle dates in general is one area I've seriously needed to upgrade, even for a date set. Not a bad example for this year.

An eBay purchase from an EAC dealer. Just a nice Fine. I had an 1819 N6 in my collection for several years; at that time I was just buying "dates" to complete a date set. Slowly I'm trying to replace these coins, and this is a nice upgrade.

Purchased from a major EAC dealer. This coin was once owned by Jack Robinson and sold in the famous Superior auction of his collection in 1989 for $11! Probably the cheapest buy in the whole sale. I purchased it in 2007. Low grade, but not a bad coin!

Rarely does one look at a large cent and find no problems at all with it! This one's close. Virtually mark-free surfaces and great eye appeal. Part of the Jules Reiver sale.

This is the second 1821 N2 I've owned. The first one was my first middle date purchase of 1998, and a decent coin, but this one was a slight upgrade. I got it off a fixed price list of an EAC dealer, sight unseen. (And it definitely exceeded my expectations!)

A replacement for my first middle date large cent, which was an N2 purchased off eBay back in 1997 at a cheap price. It had some graffiti in the left obverse field that I didn't care too much for, but I kept it over 10 years! This one is a decent replacement.

After having an extremely mediocre 1822 in my collection for the longest time, I decided to finally break down and buy a nice '22 at EAC 2009, which had several nice examples in the auction that year. This one definitely fit the bill; furthermore, it's an Ex: John Wright coin.

This is the third one of these I've had in my collection; it came from a prominent eBay seller. Backgrounds on the other two:

The second one was my only purchase at the Foley, Alabama annual coin show in 2006. There's one gentleman who always has a nice selection of large cents and I've never passed his table (ever) without buying at least one coin from him, and I've encountered him at shows many times over the years. The first one I owned came from eBay in a PCI VG10 "no problem" holder, but was scratched pretty bad on the reverse. (So much for no problem.)

A nice coin that I purchased in a group lot, along with an 1821. This is the second one I've owned; this was just a tad bit better, condition-wise, than the other one, so I decided to keep this one.

The first one I bought came from a fixed price list. 1823 is the toughest date of the middle dates, and N2 is the scarcer of the two varieties from this year, or so I've read (seems like N1 and N2 are pretty much equal to me.) Still, a pretty obtainable coin. At a recent coin show, I saw a similar coin for about $15 less than what I paid for this one. Live and learn.

I got this at the Biloxi show in March of 1998. It was in a dealer's junk box for $9. I already had an 1824 at the time, but this was a better one, cheaper, and an overdate to boot. Neat coin and the most inexpensive large cent I own.

A cheap middle date purchased in the summer of 1997, along with many others about the same time.

A slightly tougher date from the decade of 1820. I purchased this from Rod Burress (the first time I had ever met him) at the Dalton, GA show in 1998.

I bought this from an EAC dealer off of eBay. This was later in 1998 after I had joined EAC. Slightly better than some of the earlier middle dates I have.

A nice coin I purchased from an EAC buddy, who unfortunately passed away recently.

Just a nice coin that I purchased in a group lot. This one is neat due to the obverse cracks through the top of the date and rightmost stars. It's also a scarce variety at R3.

A nice coin that I purchased off eBay. Not a scarce variety, but this is the only small date variety for 1828, and a popular one due to its Redbook status.

Another cheapy I bought off eBay, late in 1997.

This was part of a small collection I bought - I already had an N3 at the time, but this was a slightly nicer example. So I kept this one. A scarce variety at R3.

A tougher variety at R3. It's noted for having small letters on the reverse, with the reverse struck bluntly and all of the A's being repunched. This is the second one I've owned, and was purchased as part of a collection. I purchased the first one at EAC '03, and although the detail on both is similar, this one has much better surfaces.

Scarce at R3, and by far the most interesting 1829 variety in terms of die cracks. Dubbed the "Wheelspokes Reverse", this variety in its latest die state has five radial die cracks which can be found through the reverse legend to the rim in the following places: between (E)D S(T), through A(M), (E)R, through the bottom of the reverse, and the fifth through (A)T. All five die cracks are visible on this coin.

I purchased this example from an EAC gentleman at the Perry, GA coin show back in early 2011. This is the second one I've owned; the first came out of the Evan Kopald collection. This one shows the cracks a bit better than the Kopald specimen.

A tough "small letters" variety at R4. This variety is recognizable by the 1 in the date, which tilts noticeably to the right. An eBay purchase (yes, there ARE some nice coins on eBay!) This coin is pretty much everything you'd ever want in a "collector coin": scarce, attractive, and affordable. And the small letters reverse is a bonus.

I got this off USCents auction. Probably one of the nicest 1830's I've ever seen for the grade (very close to Fine; I call it VG+.) I had had trouble finding a nice example of this date for some reason, so when this one came along I couldn't pass it up. The first large cent I ever saw came from my grandmother; an 1830, dark and not too terribly attractive. I still have that coin.

A nice coin that was on a prominent EAC dealer's fixed price list. I inquired about it and figured it would have been sold long ago, but as luck would have it he still had it. A tough variety that I'd found before, but never all that nice. This is the best I've seen at this lower grade level.

A nice coin that I bought off eBay from an EAC dealer. As it turns out, it's an Ex: John Ward coin, who had a fantastic collection. (I didn't know that at the time, so that was a nice bonus!)

A neat variety I got from an EAC friend. The reverse comes perfect and also with a cud at TES of STATES. This is a late, but not the latest, die state.

Terminal die state of this variety. The cud at TES now fills in the entire top of S, with a crack emerging from the top right of S. I acquired both 1831 N11's from the same gentleman.

I got this in a lot of coins off eBay. It's probably the most interesting of the 1831's, due to its various die states. This earlier die state has a die crack thru the stars. Later die states have a cud that forms at K5 on the obverse, eventually becoming a huge cud known as the "harpooned whale". The earlier die states are relatively common.

The second one of these I've owned; both were purchased off of eBay. The seller of this specimen was an EAC gentleman. It's about the same detail as the first one, but with better surfaces. The cheapest of the 1831 N12's with a cud.

Probably the most colorfully named of all of the middle date variety/die states. N12 in and of itself is common, but this late die state is quite scarce. Dubbed "The Harpooned Whale" due to the whale-shaped obverse die break, with star 13 acting as the "harpoon". An EAC friend of mine has a "box full" of these. This coin was an eBay purchase, advertised as an 1831 cent with a large cud. Every now and then an 1831 N12/1 will show up, so I was quite surprised to see a "Harpooned Whale" on eBay, and was fortunate to be high bidder on it. Terminal die state with the cud covering three points of star 12.

I bought this from an EAC buddy of mine. A tougher year from the decade. Nice die crack thru the stars.

My first cent from the 1830's, and a neat one, with a die break encircling the obverse stars.

A nice coin that I purchased as part of a collection. It has a minor double profile on the forehead and lips. This replaces a coin that a friend of mine found for me at the EAC 2001 convention. My notes from back then concerning the first coin: "As of 2001, I'm not big into the middle dates, but with this coin I'm two short of completing a 1816 to 1839 date set, lacking only 1835 and 1836."

The only 1834 with the large letters reverse. A scarce variety at R3, but always in demand as it's a Redbook variety. I purchased this from a friend of mine who had two of them, and he offered to sell me one. Just a really nice VG.

Another Jules Reiver coin that was in an NGC "problem" slab. Viewing the coin in person, I still don't know what the problem is. Nice example with reverse die cracks. I guess the saying "buy the coin, not the slab" also works in reverse!

Strange - after needing an 1836 to complete a date set of middle dates, this is my third 1836. I purchased the N5 first, then the N6 with an obverse cud. Logically, this one had to come next - it has a cud at K11, virtually a mirror image of the cud position of N6! A nice matched set.

The last coin I needed to complete a middle date set of large cents (by date.) Nice example. (Wish all looked like this!) This was purchased in July 2001.

A neat middle date I found on eBay. This example has a small obverse cud at K1 which is an immediate identifier as to the variety. Strangely enough, 1836 N3 has an almost mirror-image cud at K11. (I suppose I need to find a 1836 K3 with a cud to go along with this one now!)

An eBay purchase from an EAC dealer. I had originally bought this coin for resale, but I liked the color so much that into the collection it went. (Perhaps I should try for a complete variety set for this year!)

Purchased at the Pensacola coin show from a New Orleans dealer. Great color, and a neat die crack through stars 3 through 8 on the obverse. One of two 1837 varieties which share this obverse with the crack.

A great coin that I purchased from an EAC buddy's fixed price list. This variety is officially N7, but Newcomb had listed N7 and N8; "N7" is the later die state. As it turns out, this coin was once owned by John Wright (the author of The Cent Book) and is the plate coin for the variety in his book. This coin is a "glorious tan" to use Wright's term, and it has a neat die crack through STATES OF.

A neat coin I purchased off eBay. This variety is known for its many die states, and this is a later state with many cracks visible. The most noticeable are the obverse crack that bisects the portrait and the "lightning bolt" crack at the top of the obverse. Other cracks include a crack through the 3 in the date, from the rim through star 12 back to the rim, from the wreath through the first S in STATES, and from the rim through AT to the wreath.

Part of a large group of large cents I got off eBay. This was one of the better examples in the group.

A nice coin that came as part of a collection that I bought. There are light vertical obverse cracks at stars 3 and 4, but the reverse cracks are really bold. Just a neat collector coin.

Part of a large group of large cents I got off eBay. A decent example, but perhaps a candidate for upgrade.

A nice coin I purchased from a long-time EAC dealer. I wasn't really looking for this variety at the time, but this was an excellent example of opportunity. These don't come around that often, especially really nice. An early die state, and the 9/6 is bold.

An eBay purchase, and an example of a coin being much nicer than expected, which is always a good thing! One of the two "heads of 1838" varieties.

A nice Fine that I purchased off eBay. Some neat woodgrain on the reverse. I'd be curious to know how the nickname for this head type originated!

Also known as the "Head of 1840", and one of the easiest 1839's to attribute due to the fact that N8 is the only 1839 variety with the petite head. A nice coin that I purchased off eBay in a group lot.

One of the transitional years with interesting sounding names. This one has the bust protrusion at the back of the hair and is dubbed the "Booby Head" variety. Purchased off eBay.