1840

    The presidential election this year pitted William Henry "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too" Harrison against Martin Van Buren. Harrison Harrison won. The first regular transatlantic steamer service began, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque by Edgar Allen Poe was published, and the term "OK" came into popular use in Boston and New York.

    The British Parliament passed an Act uniting Upper and Lower Canada this year. Pedro II was declared Emperor of Brazil, Mikhail Yuryevich, Russia's greatest romantic poet, published A Hero of Our Times, and James Jopule published On the Production of Heat by Voltaic Electricity, which introduced the Joule effect.

    The mint delivered 2,462,700 large cents this year. Eleven varieties of large cents are known (N 1 – N 10 and N 12). These include a large date, a small date, a variety with a large “18” under a small date, and an overdate (1840 over 1839). One variety ( 2) is known in proof. Half cents dated 1840 were struck only as proofs. There is no record of how many were struck. Restrikes of these coins were made in the late 1850’s and early 1860’s. Restrikes come with either large or small berries on the reverse.

    The nicer coins in the national numismatic collection for this year include C-1 and N-2 (4).

C-1

N 1 (1)

N 1 (2)

N 1 (3)

N 1 (4)

N 2 (1)

N 2 (2)

N 2 (3)

N 2 (4)

N 3 (1)

N 3 (2)

N 3 (3)

N 4 (1)

N 4 (2)

N 6

N 7

N 8

N 10

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