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

2046

1794 1C Head of '94. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-44,

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:12,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1794 1C Head of '94. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-44,
<B>1794 1C Head of '94. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-44, B-33, R.1.</B></I> <B>Bland MS60; CC-1. Noyes MS60; CC-1. Photo #21272. Our EAC Grade AU55.<BR><BR>Equivalents. </B></I>Maris 21 (Short Bust); Frossard 13.1; Doughty 42; Hays 33; McGirk 5-A, 5-A2; Ross 21-W; Chapman 36; EAC 31; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1668; PCGS #901374.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Back of the bust is short; seven hair locks. Fraction bar long and pointed at left end; large berry left of C in CENT. The obverse appears on S-43, S-44, NC-5, and NC-10. The reverse appears on S-44. Lettered Edge, leaf points up. Some 1794 specialists feel this is the least attractive obverse of the year.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces. </B></I>Gorgeous light brown surfaces with excellent cartwheel luster, and splashes of lighter tan, faded from original red. Hints of deeper olive can be seen on the design highpoints. Fine handling marks are evident, primarily in the fields, with a small mark below the chin to identify the provenance. While the border is a bit shallow in places, the overall strike is excellent, with well-centered design motifs.<BR><B><BR>Die State IV.</B></I> Although not the terminal die state for the variety, both dies are advanced beyond the state of most survivors. Two obverse die cracks have fully developed. The first begins at the border below the 9, diagonally up to the left into the lower hair curls. The second follows the left edge of the cap, through the fields, to the lower hair curls. Breen notes that the two die cracks meet in the hair, but examination of this piece clearly shows that they are separate die cracks that run parallel within the lowest curls.<BR><B><BR>Appearances. </B></I>The reverse is illustrated in <I>Early American Cents</B></I> and <I>Penny Whimsy</B></I>. The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Noyes (1991 and 2006).<BR><B><BR>Census. </B></I>Although considered common with a Rarity-1 rating, this piece is the finest known, and the only example with claims to a Mint State grade. This coin has been known for about 100 years, yet the present sale is its first appearance in a public auction.<BR><B><BR>Commentary. </B></I>Many of the finest 1794 large cents have traded hands privately, never appearing in a public sale. Often, the private transactions involve large numbers of individual coins, such as Walter Husak's acquisition of the entire 1794 cent collection of Dr. Allen Bennett. Today the public auction of the Husak Collection presents the first opportunity to acquire many impressive pieces.<BR><BR><B>Provenance. </B></I><I>Virgil M. Brand; Carl Wurtzbach (1938); Dr. William H. Sheldon (4/1972); R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (2/1992); Eric Streiner; Anthony Terranova; Dr. Allen Bennett (1999).</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. Virgil Brand</B></I> was born in 1862 and spent nearly all of his life in Chicago, where he was successful in the brewery business. His birthplace is subject to debate, with Al Boka writing that he was born in Germany and Pete Smith asserting that he was born in Blue Island, Illinois. He was a hoarder of rare coins who amassed a collection in excess of 300,000 pieces. His estate took decades to settle after his death in 1926. A number of pieces remained in his estate for more than 50 years, and Bowers and Merena conducted a final "Virgil Brand Sale" in 1985. Dave Bowers wrote a biography, <I>Virgil Brand: The Man and his Era</B></I>, in 1983.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot