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

2223

1801 1C 1/000. XF40 PCGS. S-220, B-12, R.3

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1,600.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1801 1C 1/000. XF40 PCGS. S-220, B-12, R.3
<B>1801 1C 1/000. XF40 PCGS. S-220, B-12, R.3.</B></I> <B>Bland VF30; tied for CC-6. Noyes VF30; CC-5. Photo #25166. Our EAC Grade VF30.<BR><BR>Equivalents. </B></I>Proskey 2; Doughty 157; McGirk 1C; Newcomb 7; EAC 11; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1740; PCGS #1464.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Pointed 1, 8 low and leans right, incomplete shoulder loop. 1/000, short fraction bar. The obverse appears on S-219, S-220, NC-2, and NC-5. The reverse appears on S-220.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces. </B></I>Sharpness slightly finer than the grade assigned by Noyes and Bland. Smooth and pleasing coffee-brown with lighter brown and olive highlights. Light to moderate abrasions are especially evident on the obverse. A minor mark below ON of ONE serves as a provenance marker.<BR><B><BR>Die State VII. </B></I>Nearly the terminal die state for this variety. The obverse exhibits die cracks and clash marks, with rim failure over ERTY and a small cud just right of the Y. Additional rim breaks are noted below the date, extending slightly to the right. The reverse also exhibits numerous die cracks nearly to the point of disintegration, with a rim break over AM. The reverse is rotated 30 degrees counterclockwise. Howard Newcomb recorded this die state as his combination 6.e-D.d with only one later die state.<BR><B><BR>Census. </B></I>EAC grades for the top six examples are XF45 (2), XF40, VF30 (2), and VF25 (4).<BR><B><BR>Commentary. </B></I>Die engravers certainly had their difficulties during the opening years of the 19th century. In 1801 and 1802, large cents were produced with the meaningless fraction 1/000 on the reverse. On other dies, this same fraction was corrected with a digit 1 punched over the first 0. All of these blunders by the engravers created varieties so cherished today.<BR><BR>Although this variety is not particularly rare, the Condition Census is lower than expected. Based on EAC grades, the finest known is just XF45, and only two other pieces are better than VF35. In <I>Early American Cents</B></I>, Sheldon commented: "Rarest of the ‘error' reverses, and excessively rare in first-rate condition. None known to me in full Mint State." His commentary in <I>Penny Whimsy</B></I> was essentially the same: "The rarest collectible reverse with an error in the fraction, and this also is a highly prized variety." This particular specimen was not known to exist in the early 1970s when the "Early Cent Revision" was published in <I>Penny-Wise</B></I>. At that time, the sixth finest known was graded just VF25.<BR><BR><B>Historical Note</B></I>. The discoverer of this variety is not known, although David Proskey recorded its existence in his study of cent varieties published in J.W. Scott's <I>Coin Collector's Journal</B></I> during the late 1880s.<BR><BR><B>Provenance. </B></I><I>C.E. Bullowa (Coinhunter); Denis Loring (12/1984); Jack Robinson (Superior, 1/1989), lot 473, $1,760; Wes Rasmussen (Heritage, 1/2005), lot 3260, $2,760.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. Catherine Elias Bullowa,</B></I> a.k.a. Coinhunter, is a dealer long on experience. Born in Larchmont, New York, Catherine graduated from Connecticut College in 1941 and began a teaching career at Long Island College of Medicine. On May 3, 1952, she was married to David Marks Bullowa who died just over a year later in September 1953. She was remarried to Earl Moore in June 1959, retaining her first husband's name for business purposes. Although she donated and sold much of the numismatic stock at about that time, she continued to attend shows and opened a new business in 1961 under the name Coinhunter, in Philadelphia. Honored with an appointment to serve on the Assay Commission in 1965, she has held membership in several numismatic organizations, serving in official capacity with both the IAPN and the PNG. To this day, Mrs. Bullowa-Moore and her husband still attend a number of coin conventions.<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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