1839/6 1C, BN MS(PCGS#1756)

August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1111

等级

AU50BN

价格

100,037

详细说明

Scarce 1839/6 N-1 Cent Superior PCGS AU-50 Quality 1839/6 Modified Matron Head Cent. N-1. Rarity-3. Plain Cords. AU-50 (PCGS). Type:Modified Matron Head. Design: Obv: A head of Liberty faces left with 13 stars around the border and the date 1839 below. She is wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, her hair tied into a bun at the back of her head by a plain cord. Rev: A circular wreath encloses the denomination ONE CENT with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border. Weight Standard: 10.89 grams. Diameter: 27.5 mm. Die Variety: Newcomb-1. Obv: Overdate, 1839/6, with a plain hair cord. The 1839 N-1 represents the only use of this obverse die. Rev: There is a strong line under the word CENT, no inner berry in the wreath opposite the letter in that word, and a die defect on the leaf above the letter E in ONE. This reverse die also appears in the 1839 N-4 and N-9 pairings. N-1 is the only die marriage that corresponds to the 1839/6 Guide Booklisting of this issue. Die State: Noyes B/A. Obv: A prominent die crack extends from the border between stars 3 and 4 across the bridge of Liberty's nose and into the eye. Rev: Perfect. Edge: Plain. Mintage for the Issue: 3,128,661 coins. Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-3: 301 to 400 coins in all grades. Strike: The borders are fully denticulated around both sides, and the central design elements retain plenty of bold to sharp striking detail despite light high point wear that confirms the About Uncirculated grade from PCGS. The obverse stars are blunt and devoid of centrils, typical of the variety. Surfaces: Glossy copper-brown patina dominates on both sides of this handsome piece. There are glints of vivid rose-orange color on the obverse at stars 4 to 8 and on the reverse around the letters in STATES and ONE, suggesting an ancient cleaning that has been nicely toned over. Wispy handling marks and a few faint carbon flecks are insignificant at the assigned grade level, and the appearance is pleasingly smooth overall. Commentary: 1839 was a transitional year in the large cent series, as four different head styles appeared on the cents as the Matron Head style gave way to the Braided Hair design. To distinguish the four different intentional head styles, nicknames came into common use more than a century ago, producing the Head of 1838, Booby Head, Silly Head and Braided Hair types. As those portrait styles were deliberate, they may all be considered part of the transition. The Newcomb-1 overdate offered here was an inadvertent fifth head style. The obverse die was prepared earlier, intended to strike coins in 1836. The 1836 cents had a plain hair cord around Liberty's hair bun, as here, a style that was abandoned in 1837 in favor of the beaded cord that is seen on the other 1839 cents. As such, this variety is distinctive for two reasons, the plain cord as well as the bold overdate. The scarcity of this variety in an absolute sense is no doubt due to the early demise of the obverse die. The ESM specimen is in the early state of this breakup with a single crack from the left border into Liberty's eye. In Noyes Die State C, this crack would extend in an irregular manner entirely across the coin to terminate at the border outside star 11. This break obviously forced the retirement of this obverse die after relatively few coins were struck, although the reverse die soldiered on and struck additional 1839-dated cents in the N-4 and N-9 pairings. The 1839/6 N-1 is also a formidable condition rarity and, in fact, there is only a single Mint State coin known -- the PCGS MS-65+ BN that realized $376,000 in our Pogue V Sale of March 2017. In terms of remaining detail, the ESM specimen is also far finer than most and would serve as a highlight in any cabinet. Provenance: From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex our (Stack's) Anderson-Dupont Catalogue, Part I, September 1954, lot 795; Herbert M. Oechsner; our (Stack's) sale of the Estate of Herbert M. Oechsner, September 1988 Greater New York Numismatic Convention Sale, lot 163. PCGS Population: 1; 6 finer, one of which is Mint State (MS-65+ BN). There are no RB or RD examples of the 1839/6 N-1 variety known to PCGS. PCGS# 1756. Click here for certification details from PCGS.