When was the last time a chain cent in ms 65 was offered at public auction?
ANACONDA
Posts: 4,692 ✭
?
0
ANACONDA
Posts: 4,692 ✭
Comments
October 10, 2003
In The Spotlight
Gem Mint State 1793 Chain Cent, Plated in Penny Whimsy, Reappears
Sheldon-3, Ex Cleneay-Jackman-Ryder-Sheldon, Consigned to ANR Auction
(WOLFEBORO – October 7) The Mint State 1793 Chain Cent that served as the plate coin for the Sheldon-3 variety in William Sheldon’s landmark Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy has been consigned to the next American Numismatic Rarities auction. The Classics Sale, the latest effort by the well-known ANR team, will be offered for bids in New York City on December 1. The cent, part of an important collection assembled by an anonymous numismatist, is the second-finest known of the Sheldon-3 variety and one of only seven Mint State Chain cents recognized by the “EAC” Condition Census listings of early large cents compiled by Del Bland and Bill Noyes. Dr. William Sheldon, author of the still-standard reference on early large cents and the inventor of the 70-point grading system used today throughout numismatics, graded the cent MS-65; the cent is presently graded MS-65 BN by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.
The cent has a long and historic provenance. Its first owner of record was Joseph Zanoni, a Cincinnati collector who issued tokens during the Civil War advertising his ice cream shop. Zanoni’s collection was sold via auction by Ed Cogan in 1867, but local Cincinnati friend and fellow collector Thomas Cleneay apparently bought the coin before his collection went to auction. Cleneay was a very early collector of Civil War tokens, pioneer collector of U.S. gold coins, and formed a landmark collection of Native American objects that, after its bequest in 1887, formed the core of the collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum. When Cleneay’s collection was sold at auction by S.H. and H. Chapman in 1890, his Chain cent realized $101. It reappeared 28 years later in the Henry Chapman auction of the Allison W. Jackman Collection, a notable sale for its high grade large cents and other rarities like a Brasher doubloon – in that sale Chapman described the cent as “Uncirculated. Magnificent impression, sharp and even. Light olive color and a perfect match for the two preceding [a Sheldon-1 that realized $166,750 in a 2002 sale and a Sheldon-2 that last sold in 1997 for $110,000] A superb cent.” The Sheldon-3, then called a Crosby 3-c [The United States Coinage of 1793 – Cents and Half Cents. Descriptions of the Various Dies Bearing That Date, With Notes on the Establishment of the Mint, 1896], brought $320 in 1918. The cent was purchased by Hillyer Ryder, best known for his still-standard works on state coins of Vermont and Massachusetts, and remained in his collection until 1945 when it was purchased intact by Wayte Raymond. Dr. William Sheldon bought the coin in 1947 and used it as the plate coin for both obverse and reverse in Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy; he ranked it as finest known by 10 points as he was unaware of the Garrett coin, now in a closely-held private cabinet. After Sheldon, the cent was owned by R.E. “Ted” Naftzger, who traded this coin for the slightly finer Garrett coin in 1980. The piece realized $120,000 when it was sold at Auction ’80 in August of that year after.
The Chain cent was designed by Henry Voigt, the Chief Coiner who was pressed into emergency duty as an engraver and die sinker in the absence of someone else more qualified on the Mint staff. The only contemporary press commentary panned his work, calling Liberty “in a fright” and calling the chain on the reverse, inspired by the 1787 Fugio cent and the 1776 Continental Currency issues, “a poor omen for liberty.” Estimates point to a total mintage of only about 36,000 pieces in total for the type; Walter Breen estimated that only about 1,000 Chain cents still exist today.
The Classics Sale will also include other important and rare large cents, including one of only 3 or 4 known Proof 1837 Newcomb-3 cents, the Eliasberg bronzed Proof 1829 Newcomb-5 (pedigreed to 1869), in addition to Condition Census examples of S-28, S-97, S-110, S-124 (the finest known, a new discovery), and 1828 Newcomb-10 (the finest known). Other important large cents include a 1793 Chain AMERI in VF-30 (PCGS), 1793 Liberty Cap, S-13, in VF-25 (PCGS), an 1804 in EF-45 (PCGS), and others from a long-held private collection.
American Numismatic Rarities, founded in March 2003, is a team of professionals well-known to the numismatic hobby: Christine Karstedt, Dr. Richard A. Bagg, John Pack, Frank Van Valen, John Kraljevich, photographer Douglas Plascensia, among others. For details on The Classics Sale, contact American Numismatic Rarities at Box 1804, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, 03894 or call 866-811-1804. The American Numismatic Rarities website, including full photos and text from all previous ANR sales, is available online at www.anrcoins.com.
You've must have always wanted an MS65 Chain Cent for your collection. Good luck........that's a real monster.
Seth