How long were Large Cents still in circulation?

[The Buzzard King]

Just curious. I've been told that people were still using them into the 1920's.
And one that I found not too long ago, was in an area that had no history of human activity until around 1880. That's like 23 years after they stopped making them.
Just wondering if anybody knows how long people were still carrying them around in their pockets to spend. Thanks.

 

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[l.cutler]

Interesting question, large cents were not very popular during the later years of their minting. They were so big and got so dirty, there were actually complaints that they were spreading sickness. When the small flying eagle cent came out in 1857 people flocked to trade in the old cents for new. If large cents were in use later, I expect it would be in remote coin starved areas, possibly in the west.

 

[idahotokens]

With the Civil War on the horizon, the price of copper was going up. That was the reason for decreasing the size of the one cent coin. Hoarding of coins for their metal content (there was more than 1¢ worth of copper in the large cent - the same problem the Mint is seeing today with the cent and nickel) quickly drove these out of circulation. I would suppose a number of people carried one in their pocket for a "lucky piece" for years after they went out of circulation. My bet is that it would have been unlikely for a person to go to a bank in 1859 and be able to get a single large cent.
John in ID