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

2134

1797 1C No Stems. AU55 PCGS. S-131, B-27, R.2

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:29,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1797 1C No Stems. AU55 PCGS. S-131, B-27, R.2
<B>1797 1C Reverse of 1797, No Stems. AU55 PCGS. S-131, B-27, R.2.</B></I> <B>Bland XF40; tied for CC-3. Noyes XF45; CC-1. Photo #23028. Our EAC Grade XF40.<BR><BR>Equivalents.</B></I> Proskey 7; Doughty 98; McGirk 5A, 5B, 5C; Clapp-Newcomb 14; EAC 26; <I>Encyclopedia</B></I> 1712; PCGS #1425.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Cracks behind hair ribbon. No stems, leaf at upright of D. The obverse appears on S-129, S-130, S-131, and NC-8. The reverse appears on S-131, S-132, and S-133.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces. </B></I>Apparently the finest known example of the variety by quite a margin. The surfaces have attractive and lustrous medium olive-brown color, with the usual minor blemishes.<BR><B><BR>Die State II.</B></I> An early die state. The crack in the left obverse field is nicely developed, and the vertical crack in the right obverse field is faint but visible.<BR><B><BR>Appearances.</B></I> The obverse and reverse are plated in <I>Early American Cents</B></I>,<I> </B></I>in <I>Penny Whimsy</B></I>, and in Noyes (2007).<BR><B><BR>Census.</B></I> In 1991, Bill Noyes recorded this piece as XF45 and second finest known, behind the French-Sheldon-Naftzger specimen that he graded AU50. In 2005, Noyes revised his grade opinions, maintaining this piece as XF45, calling it finest known. The Naftzger coin was regarded XF40, and dropped to third best in his census. In their June 2000 catalog, Superior incorrectly stated: "Graded AU50 (choice) and CC#1 by a full 10 points over the second best example in the Noyes census."<BR><BR><B>Commentary.</B></I> Doug Smith once said that you needed to own a coin three times to fully appreciate it, and this is one such coin. Smith owned this coin on three separate occasions.<BR><BR><B>Provenance</B></I><B><I>.</B></I></B></I><I> Peter Mougey (Thomas Elder, 9/1910), lot 28; William H. Woodin; Dr. Henry Beckwith (S.H. Chapman, 4/1923), lot 11, $13; Elmer S. Sears; Howard R. Newcomb (J.C. Morgenthau, 2/1945), lot 155, $130; Leonard Holland (Pennypacker Auction Centre, 5/1959), $220; C. Douglas Smith; Bertram Cohen (3/1985); C. Douglas Smith; Herman Halpern (Stack's, 3/1988), lot 132, $3,960; Roxanne Greenstein (8/1988); C. Douglas Smith; Dr. Robert Schuman; Superior (6/2000), lot 153, $17,250; Al Boka (10/27/2005).</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality.</B></I> Pennypacker Auction Centre sold the <B>Leonard Holland</B></I> large cent collection in May 1959. The story of this auction is well known. All of the large cents were sold to a small group of New York copper collectors, with Harvey Stack bidding for the group. Later, the cents were resold in a private auction at the Reading (Pennsylvania) Hotel. The profits were divided between the group, each person receiving a credit (or in some cases actual cash) of $472. Doug Smith related the story, published in the July 1978 issue of <I>Penny-Wise</B></I>.<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