1849 United States Cent Value

Today a 1849 United States Cent typically sells for its melt value to well into four figures, with condition doing most of the work. Where your coin lands depends on wear, strike and surface quality.

Public domain image (struck or printed before 1926). Click to enlarge.

1849 United States Cent value by grade

1849 United States Cent value by grade
GradeEstimated value

Estimated retail range. Estimates are modeled from mintage rarity and metal content, not auction records. Actual sale prices vary with certification, eye appeal and market timing.

How much is a 1849 United States Cent worth today?

The market for the 1849 United States Cent is driven by condition above all.

1849 United States Cent specifications

Series
United States Coinage
Year
1849
Mint mark
None (Philadelphia)
Mintage
Not recorded
Composition
Copper
Weight
10.048 g
Diameter
27 mm

Reading a coin with no mint mark

No mint mark is the mark here: the 1849 United States Cent comes from the main Philadelphia Mint, which left its coins unlettered in this era. The position where branch mints placed their letter (varies by series) is simply blank.

Why the 1849 United States Cent is worth money

Documented examples of the 1849 United States Cent in our reference database anchor what we know about this issue. Mintage records are incomplete, so collector demand and surviving population drive its market.

Context adds the final layer to the 1849 United States Cent. Documented United States coin types preserved in museum collections, with measured specifications for each date, denomination and mint. Owning this date means owning a piece of that story, and demand for the series as a whole sustains liquidity for every issue in it.

1849 United States Cent inscriptions & design

Obverse

LIBERTY 1849

braided hair coronet head facing left

Reverse

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ONE CENT

wreath

Measured 1849 United States Cent specimens

12 physically measured 1849 United States Cent examples in our reference database. Real measured weights and die axes let you authenticate a coin against the 10.048 g, 27 mm minting standard.

Measured 1849 United States Cent specimens
SpecimenWeightDiameterDie axisReferences
1849 United States Cent #110.438 g29 mm-Brunk.not, Breen.1902
1849 United States Cent #210.048 g29 mm-Brunk.not, Breen.1903
1849 United States Cent #37.211 g26.5 mm6 hBreen.1903 (fake)
1849 United States Cent #4---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.20
1849 United States Cent #5---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.2
1849 United States Cent #6---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.1
1849 United States Cent #7---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.2
1849 United States Cent #8---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.2
1849 United States Cent #9---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.3
1849 United States Cent #10---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.4
1849 United States Cent #11---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.5
1849 United States Cent #12---Breen.1902, Newcomb.49.6

Specifications compiled from documented museum specimens. See our data & methodology page.