1 Cent

Liberia's inaugural coinage, struck in 1847 — the same year the republic formally declared independence — was produced not in Africa but in the United States, at a private facility in Philadelphia. The American Colonization Society, which had administered the colony since 1822, arranged the contract. Dies were cut by an American engraver working entirely without direct input from Liberian authorities, who had little practical recourse at the time.

The copper used was sourced domestically in the U.S. Most surviving examples show moderate to heavy corrosion consistent with a tropical circulation environment.