What This Coin Looks Like (Obverse, Reverse, Mint Mark Location, Special Features, etc.): There two major varieties of the 1856 Braided Hair Large Cent (Penny). The two major varieties deal with the styling used in the 1856 date. One style featured a slanting or italic "5" while the other variety had a straight upright "5" in the date. The difference between the 1856 Slanted 5 vs Upright 5 is depicted above in the example comparison image of the coins.