1859 Canadian Large Cent.

[True_Metal]

Met up with Bergie and went to the old bridge site. Was there maybe 5 minutes and had a good high tone. Kicked away the leaves and there old Vicky was lying on top of the ground. I couldnt believe that she laid there for that long and was not found. Also found an aluminum Charms Candy Woodrow Wilson token, date unknown?
We have pics of the large cent and some other finds and will post them asap.

 

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[bergie]

This was bizarre, all. The impression of this nearly 150 year old coin was ON THE SURFACE.

 

[True_Metal]

Thanks for the info Buckram. I knew about the Roosevelt one as Bergie found one at the same spot we were at today awhile back. Mine was on the other side of the creek a little into the woods. Neat item. In pretty good shape but has some pitting in spots. Surprised it survived at all considering the cheapness of them.

 

[[email protected]]

Hey, way to go T.M.!
What side of the border did you find that big penny on? Make sure you check to see what variety the 1859 is, as the brass version is worth a $bundle$. Also look for a 9 over 8 on the date.
Your pre- confederation coin was minted for the "Province of Canada" which started it's coins in 1858.
I have only found one 1858, and four 1859's which all turned out to be the common variety.
I hope yours is the good one!
Dave.

 

[True_Metal]

Thanks Dneyed. I did some checking and from what i can tell, i guess some were made of bronze and some copper. The info on different sites is conflicting so i dont know if its true or not. I also found conflicting info about mintage numbers. One place says around 421,000 large cents were minted between 1857 (first year made) and 1920. But then another site says there were 10,000,000 minted, so i dont know for sure

Mine was found at a great forgotten creek swimming hole that dates back to the early 1700's in upstate NY bout an hour north of NYC. It's in really good shape and may be bronze as copper here does not fare well in the soil. Any way to tell if it is bronze? It has a really great deep green patina on it. There is no 8 over the 9 and just says 1859 under the one cent wording.

 

[ColonialDude]

Hey guys. I don't have my books handy, but there were certainly a ton of large canadian cents minted here in canada. I know there are over a million 1859 large cents alone, so the 421,000 minted between 1857 and 1920 is way off. I think 1859 is the most common large cent out there. Of the 15 large cents I have found, 8 of them are 1859, and all from different sites. Most people I know here seem to have more 1859's than any other year as well. There are quite a few varieties of this coin. As mentioned, there is the brass version (which I have yet to see), the regular 1859 copper, 1859 with the 9 over an 8 (as mentioned above by someone else), a wide 9, a narrow 9, and double stamped 9, and the list goes on. I saw the picture of yours on another forum True_Metal, and it is the regular copper 1859 large cent. Not of the rare variety...but still a great find, and a rare one for where you're at. I have some which are corroded like you would not believe, and the others I have are a beautiful deep brown and green patina and the best looking coins I have. Nothing in between. When I get home from work I will check on the actual numbers minted as I am now curious myself.

Wess

 

[True_Metal]

Where did you see this pic at another forum, Wess? I have not posted pics of it as yet, and this is the only forum i post at.? Thanks for the info. 8) I could post a link where i got the 421,000 info from if you want. I didnt think it sounded right.

 

[ColonialDude]

Well then, I guess someone else found the same coin as you. Yet another example of how common those 1859's are *haha* Sorry about that.

 

[ColonialDude]

A pic...

for those who are not familiar with these coins. Here's a pic of an 1859 large cent I found about 2 weeks ago. This is the same as yours I take it

http://webhost.pixpo.com/WebPresence/?id=6B76C2BBC0A8FE15012250277C34D52F

 

[True_Metal]

Yep, that looks like it, Wess. Why does yours appear silver colored? Cleaned a little spot on mine and it has a brassy coppery color to it.

 

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T.M.
The mintage for the 1859 large cent is: 9,579,000. There are 5 different varieties.
From most common to valuable:
1. Narrow 9, bronze. G. $2 up to XF $12
2. 9 over 8, bronze. G. $25 up to XF $150
3. Double-punched narrow 9, bronze. G. $45 up to XF $225
4. Double-punched narrow 9 over 8, bronze. G. $175 up to XF $750
5. Narrow 9, BRASS. G. $2,500 up to VF $9,000 (no price for XF)
Composition of the bronze: .95 copper, .04 tin, .01 tin. 4.54 grams. Diameter 25.4mm
I think the mintage number you found was for 1858 (421,000)
Hope this helps.
Dave.

 

[ColonialDude]

Hi Dave. I believe there are more variations on the 1859 penny than 5....however, only 5 are listed as they are the most collectable. So says my 2005 catalogue anyhow.

As for the militia button, it dates to around 1860-1880, as the previous buttons to it did not include "Canada". Before this the military was "British", and when British troops pulled out of Canada leaving us to establish our own "Canadian" military, we kept the same buttons, and added the word Canada to it. This happened sometime around 1865-1875 if I'm not mistaken. So in short, your Canada militia button should date to that period.
If you could send me some pics of the other buttons you have, I'm sure I could help. They sound like they could be war of 1812.

Wess