1808 1C, BN MS(PCGS#1543)

August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1057

等级

MS64BN

价格

108,374

详细说明

Condition Census 1808 S-279 Cent Popular First Year Classic Head Issue 1808 Classic Head Cent. S-279. Rarity-1. MS-64 BN (PCGS). Type:Classic Head. Design: Obv: A head of Liberty faces left with 13 stars around the border arranged seven left, six right. The date 1808 is below. Liberty is wearing a fillet inscribed LIBERTY. 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: 29 mm. Die Variety: Sheldon-279, Breen-3. Obv: The digits 08 in the date are close, and the left edge of the lowest curl is over the inside of the left curve of the same digit 8. S-279 represents the only use of this obverse die. Rev: The point of the highest leaf in the wreath is nearly centered under the final letter S in STATES, and the point of the leaf below the D in UNITED is under the right edge of the upright of that letter. S-279 also represents the only use of this reverse die. There are three die marriages of the 1808-dated Classic Head cent -- S-277, S-278 and S-279 -- and they all correspond to the single Guide Booklisting of this issue. Die State: Noyes A/A, Breen I. Obv: Perfect. Rev: Perfect, with the border fully denticulated and light diagonal die scratches evident in the field around the letters TES OF AMER in the legend. Edge: Plain. Mintage for the Issue: The mintage of 1,007,000 coins that the Guide Bookprovides for the 1808-dated Classic Head cent issue represents the Mint's deliveries for this denomination during the second and third quarters of calendar year 1808, as follows: -Second quarter 1808 = 366,000 coins -Third quarter 1808 = 641,000 coins The 102,000 cents delivered during the first quarter of 1808 are thought to have been struck from 1807-dated dies and are included in the mintage for the final year Draped Bust cent issue. Breen suggests that the 47,367 cents delivered on June 3, 1809 were also from 1808-dated dies, although the Guide Bookincludes that total in the mintage for the 1809-dated issue (see below). Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-1: More than 1,500 coins in all grades. Strike: A combination of good centering and early die state explain the full, essentially uniform denticulation seen around the reverse border, as above. The obverse impression is off center to 4 o'clock with no denticulation from 1:30 to 6 o'clock. All design elements on both sides are smartly impressed with sharp to full detail. Surfaces: This is a lovely coin, both sides satiny to softly frosted with toning in a bold blend of medium and golden-brown. Original pinkish-rose color remains within the protected areas of Liberty's coronet and around stars 5 and 8 on the obverse. Iridescent steel-blue highlights enhance the eye appeal, especially on the reverse. Traces of powdery crud around several of the stars and the digits in the date are noted, although this is not verdigris and could probably be removed quite easily. More appropriate for provenance concerns are a few tiny marks on Liberty's cheek behind the mouth, below the ear, and on the neck just below the junction with the jaw. Otherwise the surfaces are free of significant blemishes, and both sides are overall smooth. Commentary: Produced for only seven years from 1808 through 1814, the Classic Head cent design is the work of German-born engraver John Reich. Known for years among numismatists as the Turban Head cent (based on the name popularized by Edouard Frossard in his 1879 monograph), the more familiar Classic Head name used today actually predates Frossard's description and is attributed to Ebenezer Locke Mason, Jr. in 1868. Regardless of the exact circumstances of its design and replacement, the Classic Head series is one of the shortest among early coppers from the United States Mint. The paucity of examples produced does not alone explain why this is also one of the most challenging types to locate in finer circulated and Mint State grades. Planchet stock for this series, all of which was supplied by Matthew Boulton of Birmingham, England, is inferior to that which the Mint used to produce other large cent types. The copper used for the Classic Head coinage is softer with more metallic impurities, which made the finished coins more susceptible to wear, environmental damage and unattractive toning. Indeed, the vast majority of survivors of all dates of this type are well worn or impaired. Even many high grade survivors exhibit streaky and/or splotchy toning that, while not a factor in determining the grade, can limit a coin's appeal. Problem free, high quality Mint State examples that also possesses attractive color and strong eye appeal are difficult to find. This first year 1808 is just such a coin and, with an EAC grade of MS60(MS60) Average, it is tied for CC#3 for the Sheldon-279 dies in the 2015 Noyes census. The Bland census for these dies ranges in EAC grade from MS-63 to AU-50, although the present example is not included therein. In his cataloging of this coin for Superior's May 2005 sale, Bob Grellman also assigns this coin an EAC grade of MS60. Here is a fitting way to open the Classic Head cents in the ESM Collection, and a coin that will be perfect for another advanced cabinet. Provenance: From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex Robert W. Everett (Classical American Coins); Allan J. Kollar; Superior's sale of the Allan J. Kollar Collection, May 2005 Pre-Long Beach Elite Coin Auction, lot 1035. PCGS Population (all die marriages of the issue): 11; 6 finer in this category (MS-66 BN). There are also four grading events for this issue in the Red and Brown category at PCGS, the finest of which grade MS-64 RB. PCGS# 1543. NGC ID: 224P. Click here for certification details from PCGS.