America's First Coin?

chaze215

There is a New Years day auction here in NJ that has a ANACS 1793 Sheldon 4 Chain Cent Corroded Fine Details up for auction. Is this truly "Americas First Coin" as they say and what is this coin expected to go for?

Just curious.

And Happy New Year To All!!

savoyspecial

very subjective, "America" could include our neighbors to the south and the Mexico City mint was the first mint in North America

also, are you including the Hull Mint's contributions in your query??


another point, are you considering Birch Cent and Half Disme of 1792 as regular federal issues or are they patterns??

STONE

<< <i>There is a New Years day auction here in NJ that has a ANACS 1793 Sheldon 4 Chain Cent Corroded Fine Details up for auction. Is this truly "Americas First Coin" as they say? >>


No, that is completely false.

BillJones

It's impossilbe to guess at a price for the 1793 S-4 Chain cent without a picture. How badly is it corroded? Is it sort of corroded or do the surfaces look like a wash cloth? Is it the new ANACS (which does not amount to much IMO) or the old ANACS, which is a bit better. I'm guessing that the auction house will protect it at the $5 to $6 thousand level at a minimum. A Fine grade Chain cent is now a 5-figure item these days , but pieces with corroded surfaces are the norm and not that scarce, really. It all comes down to demand.

So far I'm concerned the 1792 half disme was the first U.S. coin. It was the first coin that was used under laws established by the Coinage Act of 1792, had a estimated mintage of 1,500, saw a lot of circulation and was characterized as a "small beginning" in coinage by President George Washington. I do not view the 1792 half dimse as a pattern because of high mintage and the fact that all but 20 of them saw circulation.

The Fugio Cent has a claim to the first coin title, but it was authorized under the Articles of Confederation, and was never really officially issued because it found that it was too light to called "a cent" or 1/100 of a Spanish dollar.

The Chain cent was the first for circulation coins that was made and issued by the first U.S. mint. If you want to get down to the first Chain Cent, that would be the Sheldon 1 which is better known as the Chain AMERI. The S-4 was the fourth and last Chain Cent. It looks more "civilized" that the other four varieties. (Note a fifth Chain Cent variety is listed as NC-1. There are only two or three examples known.

291fifth

The Fugio cent was the first US cent. The 1792 half disme should also be considered as a regular circulation issue. Too many collectors are mesmerized by the "struck in a US Mint building" factor.

chaze215

Thanks for all the feedback. Im not familiar with these coins so I figured I would ask my fellow forum members. Here is the headline from the auction:

COINS: **America's First Coin, ANACS Certified** 1793 Sheldon 4 Chain Cent with Fine Details (Reserve $8,000)

PerryHall

<< <i>The Fugio cent was the first US cent. The 1792 half disme should also be considered as a regular circulation issue. Too many collectors are mesmerized by the "struck in a US Mint building" factor. >>



Agree. The Fugio cent was the first coin authorized by the government of the United States. The fact that it was struck by a contractor while the US was under the Articles of Confederation doesn't change the fact that it's our first US coin.

Fletcher

Billet7

I agree with the fugio. Just to be safe I also had to get a chain cent, and a 1793 half cent. I'm also thinking I should eventually have a half-disme as well....so many coins...so little time!