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

2091

1796 1C Liberty Cap. AU55 PCGS. S-90, B-11, High

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:3,750.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1796 1C Liberty Cap. AU55 PCGS. S-90, B-11, High
<B>1796 1C Liberty Cap. AU55 PCGS. S-90, B-11, High R.5.</B></I> <B>Bland VF35; CC-5. Noyes VF25; CC-5. Photo #25444. Our EAC Grade VF25.<BR><BR>Equivalents.</B></I> Gilbert I; McGirk 4A, 4B; Ross 6F; Clapp-Newcomb I; EAC 11; <I>Encyclopedia</B></I> 1682; PCGS #1392.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Crowded head; date and LIBERTY touch the device. Leaf pair below ER. The obverse appears on S-89 and S-90. The reverse appears on S-90. Plain Edge.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces. </B></I>An exceptional specimen with lighter tan and darker steel toning splashed on medium chocolate surfaces. The only flaw is a tiny rim bruise below the left ribbon end, and a slightly incomplete planchet at 8 o'clock.<BR><BR><B>Die State I. </B></I>An early die state with no trace of the central reverse bulge that would soon develop.<BR><BR><B>Appearances. </B></I>The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Noyes (2007).<BR><BR><B>Census.</B></I> After discussing the plentiful S-89, with nothing XF or better despite an R.3 rating, we come to the S-90, still nearly R.6 but with two Mint State pieces surviving.<BR><BR><B>Commentary.</B></I> This is the important rarity among 1796 Liberty Cap cents, still nearly R.6, with a total population just over 30 coins. In <I>Early American Cents</B></I> and in <I>Penny Whimsy,</B></I> Sheldon called it Rarity-7, the only 1796 Cap variety with that rating in his reference.<BR><BR><B>Provenance.</B></I> <I>John P. Young; M.H. Bolender (9/1951), lot 55, $260; R.E. Naftzger, Jr.; Robert Gildred; Kagin's (10/1983), lot 1021, $6,600; Dr. C.R. Chambers (10/1989); Dennis Mendelson (7/1991); Robinson S. Brown, Jr. (Superior, 1/1996), lot 125, $10,450.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality.</B></I> Born near Philadelphia on December 24, 1745, <B>Benjamin Rush</B></I> was a prominent citizen, politician, and physician. His medical studies took place in London, Edinburgh, and Paris. Rush was a delegate to the Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, surgeon general for the Continental Army, founder of the Philadelphia Hospital, and president of the Philadelphia Medical Society. He tirelessly treated yellow fever victims in the 1790s, but public opinion declined when he inevitably caught the disease. Benjamin Rush was appointed Mint treasurer in 1797 and remained at this post until his death of pneumonia on April 19, 1813. While treasurer, Rush accused Elias Boudinot of taking Mint property without properly compensating the Mint. Pete Smith notes that the property in question was stable refuse that Boudinot shipped to his farm.<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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