1793 1C Chain, S-2, BN MS(PCGS#35435)

The Kennywood Collection

拍卖行

American Numismatic Rarities

批号

69

等级

MS65

价格

3,530,010

详细说明

1793 S-2. Rarity-4. Chain AMERICA. MS-65 BN (PCGS). One of the very finest Chain cents in existence, arguably tied for finest known of the variety and no worse than second finest known. Full cartwheel lustre spins across frosty and marvelously preserved surfices. The color is a frosty steel medium brown, with golden highlights faded from mint color and some rosy hues in the protected areas of the hair which were last to mellow. The surfaces are unworn and show remarkable bloom; we concur with the designation of this coin as fully Mint State despite our attachment to the conservative “EAC” style grading system used for large cents. A raised rim encircles the entire obverse and most of the reverse, but for the lowest portion. The strike is bold enough to allow for a strong and expressive portrait of Liberty with only the most minor Hatncss in the hair strands closest to the ear. Some tiny scattered marks in the left obverse field appear to have pre-existed striking, and a dig at the end of a middle hair strand serves as an identifier. The reverse shows a few very tiny pre-striking contact points, but none are notable. The numeral 3 is clearly recut at the bottom of the lower curve, a fact about the S-l/S-2 obverse we have never noted or seen described but is seemingly worthy of further in- quiry; examination of other Mint State S-1 and S-2 cents, such as the Koshkarian AMERI shows no evidence of this characteristic. which may suggest how bold the strike on this coin is or that there was a light retouching of the die. Mint State Chain cents are the sort of things that most collec- tors can only dream of owning and only hope to even see at some point in their collecting lives. Since ANR’s founding in July 2003, we have been fortunate enough to handle several pieces certified as Mint State and a few that even the most conservative “EAC” style grader would call fully Mint State. Two others were certified as MS-65 BN. The Jung Sheldon-4, the only other PCGS graded coin, realized a world record $391 ,500. Sheldon-2 is actually even rarer than Sheldon-4, both as a variety in all grades (R-4 vs. R-3+) and in Mint State. Comparing the two in terms of their condition is difficult, as that coin had more color but this coin lacks the Jung specimen’s reverse spot. Calling them comparable seems fair, and we can imagine right-minded people asked to choose between them picking either one. Few type coins in Mint State are as challenging as the Chain cents of 1793. Small Eagle half dollars are a bit rarer in full Mint State, as the record $966,000 achieved for the Koshkarian 1797 half dollar would suggest. 1793 half cents or 1793 Wreath cents are perhaps similarly rare but each has a higher population of coins m full Mint State still extant; when the coins arc this rare, the difference between eight total coins and 12 total coins is significant and represents a difference of 50%. There are fewer than a dozen Chain cents that are generally accorded Mint State status by conservative standards, and a slightly higher number based on grading service grading standards and populations. Both conservative graders and grading services agree that this piece ranks as one of the finest Chain cents in existence, as will anyone who views this coin in person. Its fine pedigree includes two of the most famously fin- icky cent collectors of a past generation — Washington D.C. perfectionist Benjamin Collins (of whom there is more below) and the famed Dr. Henry W. Beckwith. These two collectors, intent on acquiring the finest specimens possible in an age where there was far less competition for gems, should not overshadow later luminaries who owned this coin such as French, Mehl, Sheldon, Naftzger, and Halpern, but their connoisseurship was far ahead ot their time. A connoisseur in their mold should own this coin next and enjoy its incredible state of preservation. PCGS Population (AMERICA variety): 1; 1 finer (MS-67 BN). There has been one Periods (S-4) graded MS-65 BN. the Jung coin which we sold for a record $391,500 in July 2004. There is also a single AMERI (S-1) at MS-65 BN. In sum, PCGS has graded only four Chain cents of all varieties at MS-65 or finer. The MS-67 BN is said to be a Sheldon-4, a Periods coin on the wrong place on the PCGS Population Report, which is known as “The Coin.” a prooflike gem that is by general acclamation the finest Chain cent in existence. Despite being a relative obscure name to most modern numismatists, two excellent studies focus on the first American owner of this coin, the Washing- ton D.C. collector and dealer Benjamin H. Collins. One, by Jess Patrick in the October 1980 issue of The Numismalist focuses in large part on this coin and the other, by scholar and friend John W, Adams, appeared in the first ever COAC volume published by the ANS. Collins was a Civil War veteran who served with the Union under Gen. Philip Sheridan, a native Missourian under the employ of the federal government after the war who died in Washington in 1928. In his twilight years, in 1924, he noted in The \iimismatisl how he went about his collecting of large cents. He described how he obtained “the best pos- sible specimens, retaining them in my cabinet in the face of most tempting of- fers and only dispensing of one when a more perfect or desirable cent took its place ... perfect condition should be our aim.” A perfect cent, to the finicky Mr. Collins, would show no evidence of “vandalism, nicks, oiling, tooling, holes, cleaning, cabinet friction and certain absence in toto of corrosion” and he would scolTat modern premiums on RD coins, saying “any fixed color, light olive pretcrred, though black or dark very acceptable. Red secondary which, though beautiful, will not stay put.” A realist and a perfectionist are rarely the same person, but Collins was both. His realism is what may have allowed him to fi- nally sell, after much apparent browbeating, this coin and four others which Dr. Henry Beckwith so desperately wanted for his high condition set of cents. Breen called Beckwith “the first perfectionist," though he may have been the second. Jess Patrick kindly shared the unpublished 1919-dated receipt Collins gave Beckwith in his 1980 article. In that manuscript. Collins described the present coin as follows: “ 1793 Chain America Cent, original condition, unworn, sharp, evenly centered, obverse and reverse, with much original brilliant red color Ire- member what Collins said about it not staying put?|, no spots or nicks, un- doubtedly the finest known of this variety .... $500.” That accompanied the receipt letter gives a hint to how attached Collins had become to this Chain cent and the four other gems sold that day: “The five high prices ones — begged for by you and which you appreciate so highly (and very justly so), I doubt if they can be matched in any other known collection (as a quintet under one ownership) and will greatly enhance the beauty and evenness of your incomparable set of dates. They formed a part of the wonderful collection of cents 1 purchased in 1891 from W.S. Lincoln & Son, the leading coin dealer in London, England, and were in my personal set with no desire on my part to sell until you so persistently and patiently acquired them for your own.” Beckwith paid handsomely for the chance to lure this coin away from Collins, and it sold for $70 less than he had paid at the 1923 sale of his collection. As John Adams noted, “Suffice it to observe that almost every cent col- lector has his price, but there are relatively few buyers with the reckless abandon to pay it.” Purchased by Benjamin H. Collins in August 1891 from “tray after tray of gem coppers” at the London shop oj IV. S. Lincoln & Son; Collins to Dr. Henry W. Beckwith on January 30, 1919; S.H. Chapman’s sale of the Beckwith Collection, April, 1923, Lot 1; purchased by Henry Chapman for $430 and sold to Dr. George P. French; B. Max Meld’s 1929Jjxed price list of the Dr. George P. French Collection, Lot I (@$850); J.C. Morganthau and Co. ’s sale of the Dr. Henry A. Sternberg Collection, April 1933, Lot 2; B. Max Meld’s personal collection to T. James Clarke to John H. Payne to Dr. William H. Sheldon in 1953; sold with the intact Sheldon Collection to R.E. “Ted” Naftzger” Jr. on April 19, 1972; part of the “Great Pool Table Swap of Ho-Ho-Kus” to Herman Halpern on December 11, 1986; Stack’s sale of the Herman Halpern Collection, March 1988, Lof 2; Anthony Terranova to Andrew Lustig to Don Kagin to Gilbert Steinberg on November 16, 1992; Superior’s sale of the Gilbert Steinberg Collection, September 1996, Lot 1560; Anthony Terranova and Chris Victor-McCawley to Walter Husak; private owner and dealer intermediary; Superior’s sale of February 2001, Lot 2090 (not sold but featured as the lone cover coin); dealer intermediaries; our consignor.