LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2007 Jan (FUN) Heritage Signature Coin #422  / 

771

1793 1C Liberty Cap VF30 PCGS. S-13, B-20, High R.3. J

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:35,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 2.00 USD
1793 1C Liberty Cap VF30 PCGS. S-13, B-20, High R.3. J
<B>1793 1C Liberty Cap VF30 PCGS.</B></I> S-13, B-20, High R.3. Joseph Wright was born in Bordentown, New Jersey, in July 1756. He settled in London in 1772, returning to the United States in 1782, after making a name for himself as a portraitist. In 1783 he painted a portrait of George and Martha Washington, considered to be his most famous work. Wright also produced dies for the Major Henry Lee medal. In 1793 Mint Director David Rittenhouse appointed Wright to be acting engraver. Wright began working at the Mint in August 1793, but he was only employed for a few short weeks, succumbing in September to the vicious yellow fever epidemic that would go on to claim at least 5,000 lives. However, those short weeks were sufficient for Wright to create a lasting legacy in the minds of coin collectors. After the disastrous introduction of the Flowing Hair, Chain large cents and the marginally improved Wreath cents, Wright designed a device punch for the so-called Liberty Cap cents that is among the most loved and admired in U.S. coinage. He based the design on the Libertas Americana medal of French medalist Augustin Dupré, commemorating the American victories at Saratoga and Yorktown. Wright chose to have the head of Liberty face to the right, but as on the medal she sports the ancient <I>pileus</B></I> or Liberty cap, a symbol of of freedom.<BR> There are six varieties of the 1793 Liberty Cap cents (S-12 through S-16 and NC-6), divided into the Single Leaf and Triple Leaf reverses. On this S-13 Triple Leaf variety, the L in LIBERTY nearly grazes the border beads, and two beads are centered over the I. This piece is on a smooth, glossy, and well-centered planchet that shows the border beads intact on both sides. The piece is largely distraction-free, save for a couple of hairline scrapes on Liberty's hair and a nick on the neck, but overall it is a nice and quite attractive example of the issue. EAC 15.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coin/Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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