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

2291

1811/0 1C Overdate. AU53 PCGS. S-286, B-2, R.3

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:10,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1811/0 1C Overdate. AU53 PCGS. S-286, B-2, R.3
<B>1811/0 1C Overdate. AU53 PCGS. S-286, B-2, R.3.</B></I> <B>Bland XF45; tied for CC-4. Noyes XF45; tied for CC-3. Photo #34169. Our EAC Grade XF45.<BR><BR>Equivalents. </B></I>Proskey 1; Doughty 215; McGirk 1A; Clapp 1; EAC 2; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1782; PCGS #1558.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Overdate. Die chip below upright of E in ONE. The obverse appears on S-286. The reverse appears on 1811 S-286 and 1812 S-291.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces. </B></I>Lovely surfaces display medium olive-brown with additional mahogany on the reverse. The obverse has faint hairlines across the bust and down from the chin, and a thin scratch from the top of the head to the border at 12:30. Traces of verdigris appear on the reverse, but otherwise the surfaces are essentially problem-free. Although imperfectly centered the strike is mostly bold, with weakness only among the stars to the left. In the Herman Halpern sale, the Stack's cataloger indicates that the surfaces may be lightly lacquered, although it is not obvious.<BR><BR><B>Die State II. </B></I>Blurry clash marks are visible within the right side of the wreath. Breen described two die states, perfect and clashed, the same states Smith described earlier. The die chip below the left side of E in ONE is constant, and remains for the later striking of 1812 S-291.<BR><BR><B>Census. </B></I>The finest piece recorded by Bland grades AU55 with two others as AU50. Noyes grades two coins AU50 and two others XF45. Top honors belongs to an example found by Dennis Steinmetz in 1994, and second best is the Noyes plate coin, considered the finest when that reference was published in 1991. The example that we sold in September 1997 is the other AU coin graded by Bland, although Noyes says that coin is just VF35. Both researchers agree that this coin grades XF45 and is solidly within the traditional Condition Census as either third or fourth finest known.<BR><BR><B>Commentary. </B></I>This reverse die is the only die in the entire Classic Head series that was used for more than one variety. The Mint produced 19 varieties, utilizing 19 obverse dies and 18 reverse dies. Not only is this variety unknown in true Mint State, it is also recorded as a separate <I>Guide Book</B></I> variety, placing additional demand on the available specimens. A receptive audience is always available when nice examples of S-286 appear on the market.<BR><BR><B>Provenance. </B></I><I>Dr. George P. French (B. Max Mehl, 1929 FPL), lot 362, $125; Henry A. Sternberg; J.C. Morgenthau (4/1933), lot 35, $16; T. James Clarke; Carl Wurtzbach; Charles R. Mathewson (6/1945); Dr. William H. Sheldon (4/1972); R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (12/1986); Herman Halpern (Stack's, 3/1988), lot 272, $4,950; Gene Reale (Sotheby's, 1/1998), lot 49, $6,325; Chris Victor-McCawley.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. Julius Caesar Morgenthau</B></I> (1858-1929) founded the firm bearing his name in 1905. Earlier, in 1893, he began his career as a stamp dealer in Chicago. The auction house, located in New York City, became the premier philatelic auction house in the country by the time of his death. In 1978, Morgenthau was posthumously elected to the American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame. The firm continued to operate after Morgenthau's death, adding numismatic auctions to its philatelic repertoire. Wayte Raymond and James Macallister conducted 53 numismatic sales for J.C. Morgenthau from 1932 until 1945. The series includes the William Festus Morgan sale of June 16, 1932 and the Howard Rounds Newcomb Collection in two parts in 1945. John Adams gives an overall A rating to eight of those sales, with seven sales assigned an A rating for large cents.<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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