1794 1C S-48 Starred Reverse, BN MS(PCGS#35705)

August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1010

等级

VF30BN

价格

1,083,739

详细说明

Famous 1794 S-48 Starred Reverse Rarity All 94 Stars Visible Ex Allison Jackman, 1919 1794 Liberty Cap Cent. S-48. Rarity-5. Starred Reverse. VF-30 (PCGS). Type:Liberty Cap. Design: Obv: A head of Liberty faces right, the word LIBERTY above, the date 1794 below, and a liberty cap and pole behind the portrait. Liberty's hair is partly confined by a narrow ribbon. The Liberty Cap motif closely resembles that on the obverse of Augustin Dupre's famous Libertas Americana medal. Rev: A slender wreath surrounds the denomination ONE CENT, the base of the wreath bound by a ribbon tied into a bow. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around the border and another expression of the denomination 1/100 is below. On examples of the Sheldon-48 die marriage only, a circle of 94 minute five-pointed stars is evident inside the border, more or less between the points of the denticles. Weight Standard: 13.48 grams. Diameter: Approximately 29 mm. Die Variety: Sheldon-48, Breen-38. Obv: The Liberty head motif is short without a loop of the shoulder. The word LIBERTY is set low in the upper field with the letter R almost touching the highest point of the forelock. There is a prominent double denticles to the left of the digit 1 in the date. This obverse was also used in the S-47, S-49 and NC-9 pairings. Rev: The famous Starred Reverse, and definitive, as such. The stars are not equally spaced around the border, with some between the points of the denticles, some partially overlapped by the denticles. There are eight berries on each branch of the wreath with a double berry below the letter M in AMERICA. This is the only use of this reverse die. Sheldon-48 corresponds to the Starred Reverse Guide Bookvariety of the 1794 Liberty Cap cent. Die State: Noyes A/A, Breen I. Obv: Perfect. Rev: Perfect. In later states (Noyes B, Breen II-IV) the reverse die would buckle, eventually resulting in extreme softness of detail toward the right border. Edge: Lettered ONE HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR followed by a single leaf. Mintage: The Mint delivered 918,521 cents during calendar year 1794. Walter Breen suggests that the mintage for the Sheldon-48 variety may be included in the Mint's delivery of 48,000 cents on June 24, 1794. Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-5: 46 to 60 coins in all grades. PCGS CoinFactsprovides an estimate of 60 examples known. Strike: An early die state with even, generally light wear to only the highest elements of the design, this is a very sharp and appealing example of a classic large cent variety. Most significantly, all 94 border stars on the reverse are not only present, but sharp, as are the denticles. The obverse border is also universally crisp, and all major design elements on both sides are bold. Most of the individual strands in Liberty's are crisply delineated; softness is confined to the high point behind the ear. Surfaces: Both sides are hard and tight with no evidence of porosity or other environmental damage. Generally medium autumn-brown, there are also lighter golden-brown and, particularly on the obverse, olive-gray undertones. Wispy handling marks are scattered about, most of which are singularly inconspicuous. Dull marks behind Liberty's eye, in the lower right obverse field above the pole, and on the reverse just before the letter O in ONE are perhaps the most useful identifiers for tracing this coin's provenance through future market appearances. Commentary: This is one of the most popular, eagerly sought, and also enigmatic varieties in the early large cent series. The reason for including 94 stars on the reverse of this variety has been lost to history although, as with so many other aspects of U.S. numismatics, theories abound in the literature. Two of the more interesting are attributed to Dr. Edward Maris and R. Coulton Davis, both of which are related in Walter Breen's large cent encyclopedia: "Dr. Maris had conjectured that the number of stars was meant to allude to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Robert Coulton Davis connected it with the Mint Cabinet's 1792 experimental copper coin today called Joseph Wright's pattern quarter dollar (Judd 12, Pollock 14, Encyclopedia 1365), which has 87 stars in the reverse border." No documentation exists to support either theory and, in the case of the Davis assertion, the stars on Judd-12 are larger and of a different shape than those used on the Sheldon-48 cent. Noyes (2006) observes: "They are put in with a light punch, and...they are far too light to have been intended as a border." Exactly who discovered the Starred Reverse variety is also debated, although most numismatists credit 19th century dealer and numismatist Henry Chapman in 1876 or 1877. His brother, Samuel Hudson Chapman, told of the discovery in his work United States Cents of the Year 1794 (second edition 1926): "This die was discovered by Henry Chapman during 1877. Dr. Maris, the first man to make a study of the series, was standing between him and the author whilst we were examining a lot of 1794 Cents, when H.C., picking up the specimen and examining it, exclaimed, 'Here is a die with minute stars around the reverse.' Dr. Maris confirmed the discovery and said, 'It was previously unknown.'" On the other hand, Lyman H. Low, in his March 17, 1907 catalog, wrote of Sheldon-48: "This number, although unknown to Maris and the general public until about 1887, was possessed and commented upon by A.J. Gilbert (brother of Ebenezer Gilbert), residing at Catskill prior to 1850." Regardless of the intent of the stars and when and by whom the variety was discovered, the appeal of Sheldon-48 has remained strong throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries. Its scarcity has also stood the test of time for today, in 2020, only 60 or so examples are believed extant, the actual total perhaps as low as 50 to 55 coins. On the vast majority of Starred Reverses, only a small portion of the stars may be seen -- only the very best pieces, as here, have all the stars apparent and so bold to the unaided eye. Breen confirms this as part of his statement: "Usually in low grades, occasionally on defective planchets, and seldom showing all 94 stars, the border often being weak at upper right." The ESM specimen is one of the finest that we have ever had the privilege of bringing to auction, and we doubt a sharper or otherwise more appealing Starred Reverse cent will come on the market in the near future. A highly significant offering, and sure to see spirited bidding. Tied for CC#3 with an EAC grade of VF25 in the Bland census of 2000, the 2006 edition of Noyes says VF25(VF25) Average Plus and CC#2. In his cataloging of the Dan Holmes Collection in 2009 Bob Grellman also assigned this coin an EAC grade of VF25. Provenance: From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex Allison W. Jackman; Henry Chapman's sale of July 1919, lot 190; Henry C. Hines, 1945; Dr. William H. Sheldon, April 19, 1972; R.E. "Ted" Naftzger, Jr., February 23, 1992; Eric Streiner; Jay Parrino, June 1995; Michael Arconti; Superior's Pre-Long Beach Coin Sale of February 2001, lot 2133; Jack Wadlington, via Bob Grellman and Chris Victor-McCawley, June 30, 2005; Dan Holmes; Ira & Larry Goldbergs' sale of the Dan Holmes Collection, Part I, February 2009, lot 79. The obverse and reverse of this coin are plated in the reference United States Cents of the Year 1794by S.H. Chapman; the reverse is plated in Sheldon's Penny Whimsy. PCGS Population: 2; 5 finer (AU-50 finest). PCGS# 35705. NGC ID: 223P. Click here for certification details from PCGS.