What is the finest early copper coin?
ColonialCoinUnion
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Stewart claims his 1807 25c is the finest early silver piece -
Is there an acclaimed finest copper?
Per Stewart's rules, date, denomination and rarity are irrelevant - we are speaking purely of condition.
Is there an acclaimed finest copper?
Per Stewart's rules, date, denomination and rarity are irrelevant - we are speaking purely of condition.
0
Comments
greg
www.brunkauctions.com
1793 Sheldon-4. Rarity-3+. Chain, AMERICA, Periods. MS-65 BN (PCGS).
Sometimes in the course of numismatic events, a coin "has it all," with little else to be desired. Such an instance is here, with this simply incredible 1793 Chain cent, one of the most famous and rare of American coin types, combining the certification in gem grade, plus the incomparable pedigree of the Eliasberg Collection. Just about every adjective that you might care to apply would be relevant—marvelous, wonderful, and so on. You can add your own descriptions.
It seems like only yesterday when the cataloguer viewed this coin as part of the Eliasberg Collection, there appearing as Lot 487, graded somewhat conservatively (it seems) as MS-64. The description verbatim was as follows:
"Strike: Superbly detailed with excellent definition of all designs, including the highest points of the hair. Well centered. The letters are bifurcated on the obverse, slightly so on the reverse, an artifact of striking due to planchet spreading. Obverse and reverse with high rims, as struck. Superb preservation without rim bruises or bumps.
"Surfaces: Lustrous brown surfaces with a tiny area of raised granularity at and to the right of F in OF. Struck on an incomplete planchet with very slight flattening of the edge at 7:00.
"Narrative: Possibly the finest known or, perhaps, the second finest of this variety. This is one of only seven or eight Mint State Chain cents in existence (of all varieties). As such it is one of the greatest of all early cents to cross the auction block in our generation. This specimen has been off the market for just a few days less than a half a century. The pedigree listing is most impressive, and is tantamount to a Who's Who in Numismatics."
Design: First motif of the copper cent series. The head of Miss Liberty faces left, delicate in her features, her lips pursed, her eye wide open, and her hair streaming to the left behind her head, finely detailed with individual strands visible. Above is the word LIBERTY, in this instance with a period following. Below is the date 1793, also with a period, characteristic of no other die of this year. The use of periods in general commerce (without regard to coin designs) was different in 1793 than it is today, and often a sign for a hotel would have a period, as if to arrest the viewer's thoughts (such as SANBORN HOUSE.). Whatever the reason, the periods did not appear elsewhere on coinage of the era. The reverse depicts a continuous chain of 15 links, representing one for each of the states, comprising the original 13 colonies plus Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1792). Within is the denomination expressed as ONE/CENT plus, redundantly, 1/100. Around the border is the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Edge with vine and bars.
Designer: Henry Voigt is typically credited with this coinage, and perhaps for this measure he should be credited with the earlier offered 1793 half cent (see description). Voigt is believed to have engraved dies at the Mint circa December 1792 through June 1793, but precise times are not known. On January 28, 1793, he was appointed as the first chief coiner at the Mint, an office which he held until his death in February 1814. Voigt was a watchmaker by trade, and thus was thoroughly familiar with engraving on metal surfaces, working in small dimensions, and the like. Most unfortunately, Mint correspondence of the era, plus the annual Report of the Director of the Mint typically overlooked details of who engraved dies or furnished designs, simply because these were considered to be the tasks of workmen and artisans, and not necessarily relevant to the financial situation at the Mint. It would be interesting to learn more about Voigt, who was born in Pennsylvania but who prior to the Revolutionary War went to Germany and worked there as an apprentice at a mint. Perhaps if someone has detailed biographical information we will find space for it in a future issue of The Numismatic Sun.
Comments: The story of the 1793 Chain cent is well known. A twice told tale, frequently recited commentary, attributes the short life of the obverse and reverse motifs to a contemporary newspaper article which stated that Miss Liberty appeared to be "in a fright," and, on the reverse the chain was an "ill omen for Liberty." Whatever the reasons, the motif was short lived. Several die combinations were used to produce 36,103 pieces. These slipped quietly into circulation, without a single example being reserved specifically by a numismatist. Indeed, no record has been found of any individual being interested in the numismatic productions of the Mint during the early years, and systematically saving pieces.
Chain cents did their duty in commerce, and as late as the 1850s a few were seen here and there in circulation, no doubt worn nearly smooth. Today several thousand pieces exist across the different varieties, mostly in well worn grades, and often with planchet defects, porous surfaces, or other problems.
Die Notes: Breen's die state II, with a thin crack through the bases of RTY of LIBERTY to the period that follows. Another two faint cracks extend from the rim at 7:30 toward the hair and downward toward the date. Breen notes that the engraver of this obverse die may have been different from that of the other Chain cent obverses, but the varied depictions of Liberty have as many stylistic commonalities as they do differences. This obverse most closely resembles the obverse of NC-1, known by only two specimens in widely varying grades.
Before 1890, this piece's provenance is essentially identical to the Sheldon-3 in our December sale, as both pieces lived in Cincinnati while a part of the Zanoni and Cleneay collections, parting ways in the Chapman brothers' landmark 1890 sale of the latter cabinet. In today's Condition Census of Sheldon-4, this piece is deemed third finest known of the variety, exceeded by "The Coin," a superb prooflike specimen that once resided in the Naftzger collection and is spoken of in the hushed tones reserved for numismatic royalty. The second finest known is the Parmelee-Pearl specimen, which also once resided in the Naftzger Collection and was the plate coin in the Noyes.
PCGS Population: 1; none finer within designation.
A storied provenance: From W. Elliot Woodward's 5th sale, October 1864, Lot 603; Joseph Zanoni to fellow Cincinnatian Thomas Cleneay privately; S.H. and Henry Chapman's sale of the Thomas Cleneay Collection, December 1890, Lot 1795; Charles Steigerwalt to John G. Mills; S.H. and Henry Chapman's sale of the John G. Mills Collection, April 1904, Lot 1227; Henry Chapman's sale of the George H. Earle, Jr. Collection, June 1912, Lot 3355; Henry Chapman to Clarence S. Bement; Henry Chapman's sale of the Bement Collection, May 1916, Lot 286; Col. James W. Ellsworth to Wayte Raymond to William C. A*water; B. Max Mehl's sale of the William C. A*water Collection, June 1946, Lot 10; Bowers and Merena's sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, May 1996, Lot 487. Plated in Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Large Cents 1793-1814 for the Breen-5 variety.
<< <i>Nove Constellatio Five-unit piece >>
That's a coin?
<< <i>Nove Constellatio Five-unit piece >>
By some definitions perhaps, but not the one Stewart used.
This is purely about preservation.
As such, the Chain Cent above is out as well, as there exists a number of 1794 Cents (and probably a number of other coins of different dates) that are objectively finer in condition than that one.
<< <i>This one ain't half bad:
>>
Holy cow! How much did that sell for?
How much do you think it would bring today?
Check out some of my 1794 Large Cents on www.coingallery.org
<< <i>My vote goes to the At*water Wreath Cent-- PCGS SP 68 Red. >>
Ok, lets see it!
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
<< <i>My vote goes to the At*water Wreath Cent-- PCGS SP 68 Red. >>
If it's 200+ years old and red, it's been conserved, unless it's been stored in Helium or Nitrogen.
And it's Atwater
HOW ABOUT MY 1807 LARGE CENT IN PCGS MS 66 RED ?
STEWART
IT IS BLAZING RED UNLIKE THE AT*WATER SP 68 RED (WANNABE)
That may be the reddest one, but it's not the most perfect.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
MR EUREKA - First off I love the 1796 quarter that you bought from Eliasberg.I tried to buy it from you.I feel it is finer than the Norman Stack 1796 quarter
in a PCGS ms 67 holder.It is still not as wonderful as my 1807 quarter.
What about my 1796 half cent which is 80% red ? PCGS graded it ms 66 red/brown.It is also on Shylocks web site.
Stewart
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
<< <i>I would like to see a picture of the famous aTWATer cent if anyone has one to post >>
Har har har!!
Usually the man's name is spelled kind of funny, at least around here, people for some reason insert all kinds of sym*bols in the mid-dle
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
1794 1C Head of '95. MS67 Red and Brown PCGS. S-67, B-59, R.3. Bland MS68; CC-1. Noyes MS67; CC-1. Photo #21315. Our EAC Grade MS65.
Equivalents. Maris 38 (Roman Plica); Frossard 20d; Doughty 58; Hays 54; McGirk 4-J; Ross 33-DD; Chapman 53; EAC 57; Encyclopedia 1669; PCGS #1366.
Variety. Head of '95; the lowest curl is large and circular. Double leaf below OF; top terminal leaf bent upwards. The obverse appears on S-67. The reverse appears on S-66, S-67, S-68, and S-69. Lettered Edge, leaf points up. This is the first of the Gardner Heads, the obverse die apparently produced by John Smith Gardner, who was acting assistant engraver to Robert Scot. The Gardner Heads are usually classified as the Head of '95 type, although technically that distinction only applies to S-72.
Surfaces. An amazing 1794 cent, retaining at least 50% of its original mint red. It is fully struck with complete obverse and reverse borders, about as fine a cent as anyone could hope for.
Die State III. The obverse has a faint crack through the tops of RTY, and another more prominent die crack from the upper lip across the cheek, and into the hair. There appears to be an additional die crack joining the right side of the 9 to the left corner of the 4.
Appearances. The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Noyes (1991 and 2006).
Census. Just three Mint State examples of this variety are known, including two from the St. Oswald collection. This piece is somewhat finer than the other, and it is the finest known example of this variety.
This cent may be the single finest 1794 large cent in existence. Bill Noyes records three coins as MS67. The others are examples of S-69 and S-71, both also from the St. Oswald collection. Del Bland has similarly graded this piece and the St. Oswald S-71 as MS68, and considers these two coins as the best he has seen among all 1794 cents. The St. Oswald S-71 is also offered as part of the Husak Collection. It is our opinion that this piece is marginally finer than either of the other two top grade coins.
Commentary. In Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy, Sheldon discussed the final group of 1794 cents: "The final six obverses of the 1794's, beginning with this one, are in quite a distinctive style-Chapman's Style 6. The heads are a little larger, broader, and the whole design is executed in a 'hard, inartistic style, as continued in 1795.' The relief is now almost entirely flat, the hair is braided into five heavy, coarse locks, there is little evidence of fine engraving, and the features suggest no expression other than a grim stare, or as Maris put it, a Roman stare. He called these the Roman Plicae."
John Smith Gardner was hired by the Mint in November 1794 and served in the capacity of acting assistant engraver, not an officially commissioned position. He was paid as a regular laborer at the rate of $2.25 per day, according to surviving records. In 1795 and 1796, he was granted a raise to $3 per day. His work was apparently intermittent, as pay records indicate that he was paid for 78 days of work on March 31, 1796, and for 50 days of work on August 26, 1796. In addition to his engraving skills, Gardner was also an inventor who was best known for his "Stenographic Telegraphic" that Walter Breen described as an ancestor of the court reporter's stenotype machine. In his Encyclopedia of Large Cents, Breen discussed some of the engraving work done by Gardner: "He is best known for the head punch for 1795-97 half cents, the cent heads used on the remaining 1794 cents and all the 1795s, and the 'small head' half dollars of 1795, together with the wreaths for all the above."
While the Head of '95 dies are generally attributed to Gardner, S.H. Chapman was apparently unaware of his employment by the Mint. In 1924, Frank Stewart noted that Gardner was "acting assistant engraver" as early as November 1924. Two years later, in the second edition of his work, Chapman comments that "no mention of an assistant engraver is recorded until he [Scot] obtained the appointment of John Reich in 1807."
Provenance. St. Oswald Collection (Christie, Manson, & Woods, Ltd., 10/1964), lot 158, $2,184; A.H. Baldwin & Sons, Ltd. (London); Dorothy Paschal; Dr. William H. Sheldon (4/1972); R.E. Naftzger, Jr.
Personality. Albert Henry Baldwin, a British collector who began his numismatic business while working as a teacher, established a shop with two of his sons at the beginning of the 20th century, although his earliest transaction as a young coin dealer occurred in 1872 when he was 14 years old. The firm has grown in size and reputation, and has been continuously held by the family through the decades.
"The coin" from At-water collection pictured below: