Cardinal Collection

关于此套币: The Mint Act of 1792 provided that the obverse of each coin must bear an image "emblematic of liberty," but how should "liberty" be portrayed? Should it be a metaphor for the freedom of time, as demonstrated by the sundial depicted on certain colonial issues, such as the Continental Dollar and Fugio cents? Perhaps a portrait of General George Washington, whose service during the Revolutionary War secured liberty for the country? Actually, quite a few different "Washington" cents were produced at that time, with that idea in mind.Ultimately, the early Mint engravers answered that question, taking their cue from the Libertas Americana medal. Conceived and brought to fruition through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin to commemorate the Colonies' victories in the War, the Libertas Americana medal is universally agreed to be the most beautiful of all American colonial medals.This collection, the Cartwheel Cents Large Cent Type Set, is dedicated to the beauty of the Libertas Americana medal and her offspring, all of the beautiful portraits of Liberty that graced U.S. large cents from the very beginning in 1793 through their final curtsy in 1857, and all of her moods and expressions inbetween.Here, then, are the many portraits of our dear Lady Liberty:

Assembling such a collection, while eminently rewarding, can be a truly daunting task, especially when seeking top grades. The great hobby of numismatics abounds with enthusiastic collectors competing for choice early coppers. Many seek to build a basic type set, requiring just 7 coins, while others may choose to build a basic date and major type set, and that requires 67 coins. Many go beyond that and choose to assemble a complete collection of all 147 RedBook varieties, and others will go further still, seeking to obtain every one of the many different individual die varieties, numbering over 300 just for the early dates and with hundreds of further varieties spanning the middle and late dates. Indeed, some of the most dedicated of these collectors are members of the Early American Coppers society (EAC), and their current membership stands at nearly 6,000! With such a broad base of collectors, the demand can truly overwhelm the supply, especially when the supply is so limited. As a point of comparison, for the famed 1909S VDB cent acclaimed as an important rarity, PCGS has graded 1,636 as GEM MS65 and higher - including an amazing 174 at MS66RD or finer. In contrast, however, for all of the early dates of 1793-1814 combined, PCGS has graded a total of just 164 Gems - a whopping 10 times fewer! Through patience, painstaking research and diligence (and a good measure of fortuitous opportunity) the Collection now includes examples of all of these portraits of Liberty, even including her more subtle intermediate transitions and spanning the complete set of dates 1793 through 1857, virtually all in fantastic gem condition with sparkling cartwheel luster. In fact, 53 of the 67 spots are filled with Pop Top specimens (many uniquely so), with the rest all high in the condition census.While nothing can quite compare with examining these amazing specimens in person, and seeing with your own eyes their beaming luster and sparkling shades of mint red and brown, the images that follow attempt to come as close as digitally possible. I hope you enjoy the display, and may you find it interesting and informative.