One of the Center Pieces of my Early Cent Collection

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Eddi
Eddi Posts: 633 ✭✭✭✭✭
in U.S. Coin Forum

I had to stretch quite a bit some years ago to be able to buy this 1794 cent.

But, it was worth it.

1794, Sheldon 45. Head of '94. Hair locks form five heavy braids. Die chip inside left ribbon bow.

This cent appeared unattributed at auction. I was not the only collector who recognised the variety, and bidding was quite active, but I persevered, and now am glad I did.

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  • Mr_Spud
    Mr_Spud Posts: 7,272 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Very nice!

    Mr_Spud

  • Coins3675
    Coins3675 Posts: 1,138 ✭✭✭✭
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    Great Coin!

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  • jacrispies
    jacrispies Posts: 1,638 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Despite slight roughness, the coin is superbly attractive, even in color and detail! The die markers are clear as day. Looks like a fantastic purchase. Thanks for sharing.

    "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
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  • BillJones
    BillJones Posts: 35,933 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2, 2025 10:09AM
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    Very nice!

    I view the Head of 1794 Liberty Cap Cents to be the most beautiful of the four types (Heads of ‘93, ‘94,’95 and ‘96.) I view them as “very elegant” for the humble cent.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • CaptHenway
    CaptHenway Posts: 34,164 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I like!

    Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
  • lkenefic
    lkenefic Posts: 9,518 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Sure, slight roughness, but exquisite detail! This is the direction I opted for the two harder copper pieces in my Type set... well done!!

    Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;

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  • Walkerguy21D
    Walkerguy21D Posts: 12,164 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @lkenefic said:
    Sure, slight roughness, but exquisite detail! This is the direction I opted for the two harder copper pieces in my Type set... well done!!

    Ditto for me as well.
    I paid strong money for a Details ‘94 cent, but after handling a number of “flat” heavily worn examples, I wanted one with decent hair details and cheek definition.

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  • marmac
    marmac Posts: 1,534 ✭✭✭✭
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    I really like the look of that one- a great example.

    Kind of makes me regret selling my one and only 1794 large cent a while back.

  • Coinscratch
    Coinscratch Posts: 11,085 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Looks quite amazing all things considered. I imagine it saw little if any commerce.

  • Aotearoa
    Aotearoa Posts: 1,628 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Wow!

    Smitten with DBLCs.

  • edwardjulio
    edwardjulio Posts: 1,300 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Any interest in provenance for your nice example?
    https://www.1794largecents.com/provenance/

    End Systemic Elitism - It Takes All of Us
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  • jesbroken
    jesbroken Posts: 11,252 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 3, 2025 7:04AM
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    That would be a centerpiece for 99% of collections I have viewed. Wow, what a beautiful coin. Congratulations.
    Jim


    When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln

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  • Morgan13
    Morgan13 Posts: 2,691 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    It such a beautiful coin. I like the way it looks. I think it's almost uncirculated with nice details. Doesn't have much wear it just looks like it sat somewhere for a very long time.
    @Eddi do you know the history of this coin?

    Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
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  • pcgsregistrycollector
    pcgsregistrycollector Posts: 2,325 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @Eddi said:
    I had to stretch quite a bit some years ago to be able to buy this 1794 cent.

    But, it was worth it.

    1794, Sheldon 45. Head of '94. Hair locks form five heavy braids. Die chip inside left ribbon bow.

    This cent appeared unattributed at auction. I was not the only collector who recognised the variety, and bidding was quite active, but I persevered, and now am glad I did.

    Beautiful cent. I don't care about the env damage.

    Proud follower of Christ! I love the USA! Land of the Bright and Beautiful! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

  • hbarbee
    hbarbee Posts: 226 ✭✭✭✭
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    This coin is extremely impressive. Especially for the S-45 variety which is rare in any grade.

    Do you have it in a TPG holder and if so what is the commercial grade? I believe the EAC grade would be VF-30 net F-12 due to the surfaces.

    Is the color of you images accurate as in hand?

    The provenance link provided above is interesting. Maybe it is one of the examples described as from the Husak collection. I have coins from his collection. He was one of the great contemporary EAC collectors, focusing on the 1794 cents.

  • Eddi
    Eddi Posts: 633 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 4, 2025 1:10AM
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    Thank you all for your comments, and thank you @edwardjulio for the link to the provenance of 1794 cents varieties.
    I became aware of this provenance list about 6 months ago. It has very interesting information for anyone who collects 1794 cents.

    As I mentioned, Sheldon-45 is quite a scarce variety with an estimated 30 to 40 examples extant.

    @morgan13, this example appeared at auction in Europe. It was not attributed. After the auction I asked the seller for the provenance and they only mentioned that it was part of a collection formed in southern Europe. Unfortunately, I have no further information.

    As all of my early coppers, this one is also ungraded.
    @hbarbee , the surfaces are lightly granular, more so on the obverse than reverse. I took the photos at an angle be able to appreciate the surfaces more clearly. The color is a uniform, dark mahogany. The coin shows as it does in the photos. It is actually very nice in-hand.

    They always say that first impressions count? I remember when I received package and first viewed the coin. I thought to myself, well, that is a lot better than in the auction house photo. This old cent actually looks uncirculated at first glance, which it of course isn't. The Provenance list has it as VF35, with subtle granularity, and a net grade of VF25. I agree with this.

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