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

2254

1803 1C Small Date, Small Fraction. MS63 Brown

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:9,750.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1803 1C Small Date, Small Fraction. MS63 Brown
<B>1803 1C Small Date, Small Fraction. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-251, B-8, R.2.</B></I> <B>Bland MS60; tied for CC-3. Noyes AU55; tied for CC-4. Photo #28534. Our EAC Grade AU55.<BR><BR>Equivalents. </B></I>Proskey 12; Doughty 190; McGirk 10A; Ross 12; Newcomb 9; EAC 10; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1754; PCGS #1482.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Small Date. 18 close, 1 and 3 low. Small Fraction. Short fraction bar, final S and M repunched. The obverse appears on S-250, S-251, and NC-1. The reverse appears on S-251.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces.</B></I> Traces of mint red remain by the devices, with medium brown color and some darker patina along the right obverse border. The reverse is pleasing olive and tan, retaining nearly complete mint frost. Some surface roughness on each side is the result of grease or similar substance on the die.<BR><B><BR>Die State I. </B></I>An early die state with few obverse cracks and no indication of reverse die cracks.<BR><B><BR>Provenance. </B></I><I>Thomas Elder (2/1926), lot 1261, $20; Frank Hussey; New Netherlands (4/1960), lot 1441, $215; R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (New Netherlands, 11/1973), lot 568, $650; Doug Kaselitz; Gordon J. Wrubel; Jack H. Beymer (4/1988); Robinson S. Brown, Jr. (Superior, 1/1996), lot 349, $6,325; W.M. "Jack" Wadlington; Chris Victor-McCawley.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. Edward Cogan</B></I> was born in Essex County, England, on January 5, 1803, and came to America at the age of 50, settling in Camden, New Jersey in 1853. He was occupied as a book and art dealer in the Philadelphia suburb. Attinelli describes the incident that brought the coin trade to Cogan's attention:<BR><BR>"The following incident, which occurred in 1855, turned his attention to coins; a friend of his, named Ryan, casually exhibited to him an electrotype of the Washington Cent of 1791, while commenting on the value and rarity of the original, and of the scarcity of other pieces, he said to Mr. Cogan that he ‘would give him five dollars for a United States Cent of 1815.' In his endeavors to procure one for his friend, Mr. Cogan commenced gathering all of the old cents which came in his way, keeping the various dates separate in pill-boxes. Casually showing these cents to acquaintances, he began making occasional sales and purchases, which transactions, increasing in frequency, induced him, in 1857, to devote his principal attention to numismatology, in Philadelphia. The sale of November 1st, having proved so great a success, stimulated many others to enter the business. It is from this fact that many have termed Mr. Cogan ‘The Father of the Coin Trade.' In 1865, a wider field presenting itself in New York, he removed to this city and is now residing in Brooklyn. Mr. Cogan himself attributes the increased interest in numismatics to the change from copper to nickel cents."<BR><BR>The sale mentioned by Attinelli was the first of many coin auctions held by Cogan. The series included approximately 70 auctions, followed by 10 additional sales held by his son, George. Edward Cogan was known for his strict descriptions that generally favored the buyer, rather than the seller. John Adams discussed the series of Cogan auctions: "Taking the Cogan series as a whole, it is strongest in early silver, large cents, half cents, and colonials in that approximate order. Also well represented are patterns, of which there are several first appearances, and the coinage of the author's native England." The Mortimer Livingston MacKenzie sale included the addition of photographic plates, a new innovation never before attempted. The MacKenzie sale was conducted in June 1869.<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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