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

2171

1798 1C Second Hair. AU58 PCGS. S-168, B-27,

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:11,500.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1798 1C Second Hair. AU58 PCGS. S-168, B-27,
<B>1798 1C Second Hair. AU58 PCGS. S-168, B-27, R.3.</B></I> <B>Bland AU55; tied for CC-2. Noyes AU50; tied for CC-2. Photo #23047. Our EAC Grade AU50.<BR><BR>Equivalents.</B></I> Proskey 26; Doughty 134; McGirk 5B, 9A; Clapp 28; EAC 27; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1732; PCGS #1434.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Style II Hair. LIB close, ERTY large. Short spurs inside top of O in OF. The obverse appears on S-168 and S-169. The reverse appears on S-148, S-153, and S-168.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces.</B></I> The obverse is light brown with pale green near the border. Some frosty light tan is faded from original mint red. The reverse is mostly bright green with some gold toning on the highpoints of the wreath and letters. Probably cleaned and recolored, but attractive just the same. A small surface mark is just inside the obverse border at 9 o'clock. Double Flange Edge.<BR><BR><B>Die State IV. </B></I>The obverse has faded clash marks and the reverse has strong peripheral die cracks.<BR><BR><B>Appearances. </B></I>The obverse and reverse are illustrated in <I>Early</B></I> <I>American Cents</B></I>, <I>Penny Whimsy</B></I>, and Breen's <I>Large Cent Encyclopedia</B></I>.<BR><BR><B>Census. </B></I>Bland grades the finest known example fully Mint State while Noyes calls it just AU50. Both agree that this coin is tied with one or two others for second position.<BR><BR><B>Commentary. </B></I>Walter Breen described two early die states (his States I and II) from the Clapp reference. Both die states represent early uses of the reverse die, prior to its marriage for S-153. If either or both die states actually exist, they would indicate that S-168, with its second hair style obverse, was struck prior to S-153, a first hair style type. Breen writes: "This is one of the reasons why any emission sequence for 1798 is a compromise and involves a certain amount of guesswork."<BR><BR><B>Provenance. </B></I><I>George H. Earle, Jr. (Henry Chapman, 6/1912), lot 3408, $8; William F. Brown (Henry Chapman, 1/1915), lot 316, $17; Henry C. Hines; Dr. William H. Sheldon; Dorothy Paschal; Denis W. Loring (8/1976); C. Douglas Smith; Dr. Robert Schuman (Superior, 5/2003), lot 459, $8,625; W.M. "Jack" Wadlington; Chris Victor-McCawley (7/2005).</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. </B></I>An attorney and financier in Philadelphia, <B>George Howard Earle, Jr.</B></I> (1856-1928) formed an amazing collection of U.S. coins that included 242 large cents, including 11 Mint State 1793s. His collection was sold by Henry Chapman in June 1912. Many of his coins were sold to J.M. Clapp, and later acquired by Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Earle and his wife had 10 children, including George Howard Earle, III, who was governor of Pennsylvania from 1935 to 1939.<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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