1 Cent "Silver Center and Copper" · “Silver Center and Copper”

The 1792 Silver Center Cent: a coin with a silver heart

In December 1792, in a brand-new building in Philadelphia, the United States Mint struck a one-cent coin with a dot of silver embedded in its center. It was a clever fix for a flaw written into the law — and today about a dozen survive, each one worth more than a small house.