1818 Large Cent Showing 14 Stars?

Let me see, I only count 13.



to the CCF!

I don't think so.

I agree not a star, but rather a localized area of reduced corrosion/wear.

I took a close look at this coin and in my opinion, it looks like it could be a sand cast contemporary counterfeit large cent coin (meaning it may have been possibly cast around the time period the authentic large cent coin was struck at the Philadelphia Mint).

There is a rough raised surface texture on both obverse and reverse and the coin is underweight at around 9.3 grams. There are no clear rims on either side of this coin, either, and the legends, devices, date and stars all appear mushy or opaque which would seem to indicate it is not a struck coin.

I agree with CarrsCoins that this coin could be a US 1819 N-6 (Newcomb 6) large cent and I checked the diagnostics for that variety and they do appear to be the best match.

If this is later determined to be sand cast coin, it would not be an official 1819 N-6 large cent, though, but a possible contemporary counterfeit of that 1819 coin variety impressed in the original sand cast mold that may have produced this coin. The coin would appear to be a US 1818 Large Cent to someone looking at this coin and it would seem the crude sand casting technique (that may have been utilized here), resulted in a mushy appearing "8" that most likely is a crude sand cast "9" for the last digit of the 1819 date.

With respect to the possible 14th star, as this appears to be a crude sand cast contemporary counterfeit 1819 large cent coin, it is possible the speculative original counterfeiter altered, after impressing the possible 1819 N-6 large cent, the casting mold and added that possible crude 14th star design feature and wedged it between the official 7th and 8th stars shown on the official coin. In that regard, that possible 14th star appears at the same height, appears flush with the 7th and 8th stars, and shows the same color tone of those other official stars.

An examination of this coin in hand by experts, more knowledgeable about contemporary sand cast counterfeit coins, would be the next best option for clarifying the anomalies seen in this 1819 large cent coin and, possibly, to have it authenticated, as such, by the same. I would recommend Winston Zack's book, Bad Metal: Copper & Nickel, which could help with further research in this area and possibly consider contacting him or Early American Coppers (EAC), for further research and authentication of these types of possible US sand cast contemporary counterfeit coins.