LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 February Long Beach Signature Coin #460  / 

2058

1794 1C Head of '94. MS62 Brown PCGS. S-56,

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:3,500.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1794 1C Head of '94. MS62 Brown PCGS. S-56,
<B>1794 1C Head of '94. MS62 Brown PCGS. S-56, B-48, R.3.</B></I> <B>Bland AU55; CC-2. Noyes AU55; CC-2. Photo #22507. Our EAC Grade AU55.<BR><BR>Equivalents. </B></I>Maris 8; Frossard 5.2; Doughty 28; Hays 12; McGirk 10-A; Ross 8-F; Chapman 45; EAC 46; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1664; PCGS #901374.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Date has 7 leaning sharply to the right. Blundered N in ONE, first cut inverted. The obverse appears on S-54, S-55, and S-56. The reverse appears on S-56. Lettered Edge, leaf points up.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces. </B></I>This piece just misses the technical Mint State grade with nearly full luster over lovely steel-brown surfaces. Faint traces of lighter tan are visible in the protected areas near the devices. LIBERTY and the upper obverse border are a trifle weak, and UNI is also a touch soft.<BR><B><BR>Die State II.</B></I> Obverse die cracks meet in the field, left of the hair. Both sides have heavy clash marks in the fields, those on the reverse inside the wreath.<BR><B><BR>Appearances. </B></I>The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Chapman, in Breen's <I>Complete Encyclopedia</B></I>, Breen's <I>Large Cent Encyclopedia</B></I>, and in Noyes (2006). The reverse is illustrated in <I>Early American Cents</B></I> and <I>Penny Whimsy</B></I>.<BR><BR><B>Census. </B></I>The second finest known by a small margin behind the Garrett Collection coin, which is the only Mint State piece known. The Garrett specimen is considered full Mint State by Bland and Noyes, and this example is graded AU55 by both. Only one other example has claims to an AU grade.<BR><BR><B>Commentary. </B></I>George Clapp called this variety the "Office Boy Reverse" due to several minor engraving blunders. The legend has TA in STATES crowded and AME in AMERICA widely spaced. The N of ONE was first inverted, then corrected, and the ribbon bow has two disconnected knots. These imperfections suggested to Clapp that the engraver was an apprentice die cutter.<BR><BR><B>Provenance. </B></I><I>William Fewsmith (Mason & Co., 10/1870), lot 797, $4; "Ramsey"; John W. Haseltine (1881); Joseph Hooper (Ed. Frossard, 10/1892), lot 333, $9; Howard R. Newcomb (J.C. Morgenthau, 2/1945), lot 28, $75; Willard C. Blaisdell (1975); John W. Adams (Bowers and Ruddy, 1982 FPL), lot 51, $7,000; Del Bland (6/1985); Dr. Allen Bennett (1/1998).</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. </B></I>Prior to his career as a coin dealer and auctioneer, <B>John W. Haseltine</B></I> served as a Union Army Captain during the Civil War. He saw action in numerous battles, including Bull Run and Gettysburg. He was wounded near Richmond, Virginia, in August 1864, ending his military service. In addition to his coin dealing, he was also a stockbroker. Haseltine was born in Philadelphia on September 6, 1838, and died on February 28, 1925, at his home in Philadelphia. He was well connected as the son-in-law of William Idler. Haseltine was also the father-in-law of Stephen Nagy. He penned a few numismatic references and is best remembered today for the rarities he handled under questionable circumstances. Numerous patterns, 1801, 1802, and 1803 restrike dollars, 1804 Class III dollars, and 1884 and 1885 trade dollars are all examples of pieces he handled through his connection with Idler.<BR><BR>He conducted almost 90 auction sales over a 30-year period in the late 19th century. Attinelli notes: "In his coin sale catalogues, Mr. Haseltine seldom, if ever, overrates, and more frequently he underrates the quality of the pieces he describes, and still more frequently makes no mention of their quality or rarity, possibly from a mistaken idea, that every body else knows more on that subject than himself, or from a determination to keep on the safe side."<BR><BR>Adams comments that the Haseltine catalogs have been relatively ignored by scholars. "Such neglect is difficult to understand, the more so given that the man was the leading authority of his day in at least four branches of U.S. numismatics: colonial paper, Confederate paper, varieties of early silver, and mint patterns."<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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