1846 1C Small Date, BN 20 PCGS号1865

Ron Guth

1846 Large Cents are found with one of three different date sizes: Small; Medium, or Tall.  The Small Date is plentiful because it appeared on numerous obverses and die varieties.  Based on Population Report data, the Small Date is considerably more common than the Medium Date (only one variety) and the Tall Date (second most common major 1846 variety), with scores available in MS63 and MS64.  Red-Brown Small Dates are four times as rare as the Brown examples, and PCGS has yet to grade a Red example.  Gem examples appear on the market fairly frequently, and the Small Date is one of the few in the series that is represented by a PCGS MS67BN example (that particular coin sold for $9,987.50 in a 2015 Heritage sale -- seemingly inexpensive for the finest certified 1846 Large Cent).