In his Encyclopedia of United States Large Cents, Walter Breen commented upon the belief of some who suggested that the abbreviated legend was "deliberate symbolism, after the style of the Masonic Unfinished Pyramid on the reverse of the Great Seal". Others, however, believe that it simply reflects the inexperience of the engravers of the first cent.

Vital Stats.

Chain Reverse
Year/ Mint	Circulation Strikes
1793	36,103

Type 1
Chain and "AMERI." on the Reverse

The first regular coins struck by the federal government on its own machinery and within its own premises were the 36,103 Chain cents struck in the first twelve days of March of 1793. Wright drew inspiration from a popular design created by French medalist Augustin Dupre's 1783 Libertas Americana Medal commemorating American victories at Saratoga and Yorktown over the English. The metal and the coin displayed Liberty with her hair unbound and flowing in the wind, superimposed on a pole topped by a pileus (the helmet-like emblem of freedom).

With the small hand presses then in use, if the central device of Liberty was to have any appreciable relief, then the reverse design had to have a simple layout with much open space in the fields. The chain design was simple enough and is easily the most successful element on the coin. Its fifteen interlocking links form an unbroken chain, with the words ONE CENT and the fraction 1/100 inside.

The chain device was an obvious allusion to the interconnectedness of the fifteen states in the Union. This chain device had recently been used on Continental Currency to signify the common, shared cause of the 13 colonies. Even more recently, it had been seen on the widely circulated Fugio cents of 1787. This made the public reaction to the coin more difficult to understand: Many people associated the chain device with the chains of slavery.

Whatever the meaning, the "AMERI." was quickly replaced by "AMERICA".

Type 1 Chain and "AMERICA" on the Reverse

The March 18, 1793 edition of Philadelphia′s The Mail, or Claypoole′s Daily Advertiser stated the opinion, "The chain on the reverse is but a bad omen for liberty." Soon after the "Chain" reverse was replaced by the "Wreath" reverse.

Type 2
Wreath and "AMERICA" on the Reverse

The 1793 Flowing Hair and wreath reverse was issued with two Borders. Click the link below to see an example of both, side by side.

Despite the obstacles, a quick change of the cent design seemed desirable, and Mint Director David Rittenhouse first told coiner Adam Eckfeldt to delete the offending chains from the reverse. The new Liberty head had long, separate locks blowing even more wildly than those on the Chain coins. The new reverse presented an elegant wreath of elongated leaves resembling laurel, the ancient symbol of victory.

Philadelphia Mint records show that 63,353 Wreath cents were struck. Many were saved, probably as curiosities. A number were set aside by visiting Britons, for whom the coin collecting hobby was already well established.