The ANA has several amazing youth programs that help young
numismatists learn about coins and earn cool prizes, they include the Dollar
Project, the Early American Copper Coin Project and the Ancient Coin Project. I
completed the Dollar Project last year, and am now working on the Early
American Copper Project. I completed the
first section and received an 1854 Braided Hair large cent. To get the Matron Head large cent I had two
write two blog posts, which I published here on the ANA website, and also get
elected as an officer in my local coin club. I eagerly completed the requirements
and sent in the form for the second coin. I received a Matron Head large cent for the
second submission. The coin I got was an 1835 Matron Head large cent that
graded VG-8. This grade is described in
the Red Book as "LIBERTY, date, stars,
and legends clear. Part of hair cord
visible." This coin is worth about $30. I wondered about what it would have purchased
back when it was minted. According to The
Southwestern Historical Quarterly, October 1947 (p. 170), in 1835 a cent could
buy about one 1/3 ounce of pork, 1 ounce of bacon and ½ ounce of sugar. This is
quite a bit more than a cent can purchase today! I don't know of anything that I could buy
with just one cent! My dad used to go buy penny candies for one cent, but nobody
sells them anymore.