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2063

1794 1C Head of '94. MS60 Details, Scratched,

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:24,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1794 1C Head of '94. MS60 Details, Scratched,
<B>1794 1C Head of '94. MS60 Details, Scratched, ANACS. S-61, B-53, R.4.</B></I> <B>Bland AU55; tied for CC-3. Noyes AU50; CC-4. Photo #21886. Our EAC Grade AU50.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Equivalents. </B></I>Maris 24; Frossard 14.2; Doughty 22; Hays 36; McGirk 6-D; Ross 22-Y; Chapman 42; EAC 50; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1668; PCGS #901374.<BR><BR><B>Variety. </B></I>Date is closely spaced, hair is thick and luxuriant. Inside berry left of ONE droops down. The obverse appears on S-60 and S-61. The reverse appears on S-61 and S-62. Lettered Edge, leaf points up.<BR><BR><B>Surfaces. </B></I>The obverse has a light scratch. From the St. Oswald Collection that was sold by Sotheby's in 1964; the scratch is clearly visible in the plate of that catalog. The coin is otherwise exceptional, a solid Mint State piece, with frosty light to medium brown color and full cartwheel luster. A tiny nick is evident in the lower right obverse, just above the pole, and another joins Liberty's eyebrow. Graded AU55 by Del Bland and described by him as "Quality of MS-61 but [with] a long obverse scratch." Rated AU50 by Noyes, who describes the sharpness of MS60 with "Average minus" surfaces. Without the scratch, Noyes would rate this piece at least "Average plus," or perhaps "Choice."<BR><BR><B>Die State IV.</B></I> Later than the last die state described by Breen. The obverse has prominent clash marks between the back of the head and LIB, including the stem, ribbon end, and lowest outer leaf pair from the left branch of the wreath. A faint die crack begins near the left border, the top of the cap, and the tops of LIBE. The reverse has heavy clash marks from dentils through the fraction, both ribbon ends, CA, and UNI. Slight reverse die cracks can be seen from the border to NI, through the tops of TED, STA, and TES.<BR><BR><B>Appearances. </B></I>The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Noyes (1991 and 2006).<BR><BR><B>Census. </B></I>Only six examples of this variety grade better than XF, according to Bland's Census, including just two Mint State coins. Without the scratch, this piece would easily rank second finest known, behind an MS65 that is currently untraced.<BR><BR><B>Commentary. </B></I>This is one of four varieties that were struck on thick planchets, according to Sheldon. The others are S-58, S-59, and S-60. Careful study shows that none of the three are routinely found on thicker or heavier than normal planchets. Breen writes: "Some blanks made in this period are a little heavier than the 208 grains standard. Sheldon claimed that ‘this variety [S-58] and the next three are always struck on extra thick planchets.' The weights given in Chapman do not confirm this conclusion, nor do the weights of American Numismatic Society coins or others checked in recent years. There is, therefore, no justification for designating the coins on heavy blanks as new sub-varieties."<BR><BR><B>Provenance. </B></I><I>St. Oswald Collection (Christie, Manson, & Woods, Ltd., 10/1964), lot 156, $1,008; Stack's; Frank Masters (RARCOA, 5/1971), lot 73, $3,200; R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (2/1992); Eric Streiner; Chris Victor-McCawley; Dr. Thomas Turissini.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. </B></I>A cardiologist in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, <B>Dr. Thomas Turissini</B></I> began collecting coins when he was six years old. His interest in large cents began in 1991 after he purchased a copy of <I>Penny Whimsy</B></I>. Today, he collects high quality 1794 cents.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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