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Victorian Large Cents
These simple, yet beautiful, coins were designed by Leonard C. Wyon in 1858. The 1858 and 1859 issues portrayed a youthful Queen Victoria in a laurel wreath. Since she was actually 39, Wyon took some artistic license with his monarch’s appearance. The latin obverse legends, Victoria Dei Gratia Regina, translate to “Victoria, by grace of God Queen.” In 1876 Wyon developed a new, more age appropriate, obverse effigy. The Royal Mint used several variations of this second effigy until the Queen’s death in 1901.
The reverse design, also engraved by Wyon, depicts a maple wreath with sixteen leaves. The wreath surrounds the legend “ONE CENT” and the date. In some years, the Royal Mint contracted with Ralph Heaton & Sons to mint these coins. Coins minted by Heaton display their "H" mintmark on the reverse.
The provincial cents weighed 4.54 grams. Interestingly, at this weight 100 coins weighed one pound avoirdupois. Since the coins were one inch in diameter, they provided a handy measuring device for both length and weight. The planchets were formed from a bronze alloy nominally consisting of 95% copper, 4% tin, and 1% zinc. The Dominion cents of 1876 through 1901 were 25% thicker, weighing 5.67 grams (one eightieth of a pound avoirdupois).
The reverse design, also engraved by Wyon, depicts a maple wreath with sixteen leaves. The wreath surrounds the legend “ONE CENT” and the date. In some years, the Royal Mint contracted with Ralph Heaton & Sons to mint these coins. Coins minted by Heaton display their "H" mintmark on the reverse.
The provincial cents weighed 4.54 grams. Interestingly, at this weight 100 coins weighed one pound avoirdupois. Since the coins were one inch in diameter, they provided a handy measuring device for both length and weight. The planchets were formed from a bronze alloy nominally consisting of 95% copper, 4% tin, and 1% zinc. The Dominion cents of 1876 through 1901 were 25% thicker, weighing 5.67 grams (one eightieth of a pound avoirdupois).