Looking for Large Cent variety info

[Still Waters]

Hello,

I found these two pennies and I am hoping someone here can teach me more about them than I know. Does anyone know what type or variety these would be?

Thank you,
Still Waters

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[johnnyi]

nice finds and welcome to the "funnest forum" over here The first coin is called a "mature head" large cent. The second is called the 'matron head'.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Matron Head, or Middle Dates (1816–1839)

As a response to public criticism of the Classic Head, the Mint assigned Chief Engraver Scot to redesign the cent in 1816. This newest design enlarged the obverse portrait, giving Liberty a much more mature look (leading to the Matron Head reference), and surrounded the portrait with stars along the outer edge of the coins.

Braided Hair, or Late Dates (1839–1857)

Facing more negative public reaction, the Coronet cents were redesigned in 1839 by new Chief Engraver Christian Gobrecht. This last major change to the coin updated the obverse by giving Liberty a slimmer, more youthful appearance. Minor tweaks continued through 1843, and the 1843 design prevailed through the end of mintage in 1857. Some 11 years after the large cent was discontinued, a mint employee coined several large cents dated 1868, almost certainly for sale as instant rarities to numismatists. Fewer than a dozen of these unofficial issues, struck in both bronze and copper-nickel, are known to survive.