1793 Chain Cent (S-4, AMERICA)
- Maker
- U.S. Mint (Philadelphia)
- Year
- 1793
- Rank
- 16 of 100
1793 Chain Cent (S-4, AMERICA)
1793 Chain Cent (S-4, AMERICA) by U.S. Mint (Philadelphia) (1793) is ranked 16 in the FLOAT 100 for Coins. It sold for $1,380,000 on 4 January 2025. The first official circulating coin struck by the U.S. Mint; the Chain cent is the birth of American coinage.
What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?
The first official circulating coin struck by the U.S. Mint; the Chain cent is the birth of American coinage.
1c copper, Flowing Hair, Chain reverse, AMERICA with periods, Sheldon-4, PCGS MS65 Brown CAC
What is the best-sourced number for it?
- Figure
- $1,380,000
- Kind
- Realized at auction
- Date
- 4 January 2025
Heritage Auctions, FUN US Coins & Platinum Night Signature, Jan 4-6 2025. S-4, PCGS MS65 Brown (Cleneay-Atwater-Eliasberg pedigree), realized $1,380,000 — record for any cent.
This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.
How this is made
- The figure
- One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- Why no grade ladder
- Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
- Archive
- 2026-08-08