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

2293

1812 1C Large Date. MS62 Brown PCGS. S-288, B-3,

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:2,200.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1812 1C Large Date. MS62 Brown PCGS. S-288, B-3,
<B>1812 1C Large Date. MS62 Brown PCGS. S-288, B-3, R.2. </B></I> <B>Noyes AU50; tied for CC-8. Photo #33081. Our EAC Grade AU50.<BR><BR>Equivalents. </B></I>Proskey 1; Doughty 217; McGirk 1A; Clapp 1; EAC 3; <I>Encyclopedia </B></I>1784; PCGS #1564.<BR><B><BR>Variety. </B></I>Large date, 81 close at top. Leaf point below right side of S. The obverse appears on S-288. The reverse appears on S-288.<BR><B><BR>Surfaces. </B></I>Both sides are fully lustrous with frosty cartwheels that retain traces of mint red, more prominent on the reverse. Although a small patch of maroon corrosion appears at 1:30 on the obverse, the remaining surfaces on both sides are virtually flawless. We have little doubt that without the obverse blemish PCGS would have graded this piece MS65.<BR><B><BR>Die State III. </B></I>Obverse flowlines extend the outer points of several stars to the border. The tops of TES OF A flow into the upper reverse border, due to heavy die erosion. The clash marks of State II are visible but faded, and the border dentils are absent on the reverse. A die line joining the left and right bases of the N in CENT (State II) is probably a clash mark.<BR><B><BR>Census. </B></I>Only about 10 strict Mint State pieces are listed in Bland's Census.<BR><BR><B>Commentary. </B></I>Six of the 19 Classic Head cents in the Husak Collection are graded Mint State by PCGS, and eight others grade at least AU. This offering provides an important opportunity for type collectors to select an attractive piece.<BR><BR>George Escol Sellers was a lad of four years when he visited the Mint in 1812. It would be another 81 years until he shared his experiences in the <I>American Machinist</B></I> in his three-part article, "Early Engineering Reminiscences." Although there may be some question about his memory at the advanced age of 85, his article accurately describes the coining process at the time. "In a rear room, facing on the alley, with a large, low-down window opening into it, a fly press stood; that is a screw-coining press mostly used for striking the old copper cents. Through this window the passersby in going up and down the alley could readily see the bare-armed vigorous men swinging the heavy end-weighted balanced lever that drove the screw with sufficient force so that by the momentum of the weighted ends this quick-threaded screw had the power to impress the blank and thus coin each piece."<BR><BR><B>Provenance. </B></I><I>Thomas Reynolds; John Wright; Chris Victor-McCawley (7/2005).</B></I><BR><BR><B>Personality. John D. Wright</B></I> was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, on June 6, 1939. He has served as the treasurer of Early American Coppers since 1972, a position he still holds. His wife, Mabel Ann, served as the club's librarian from 1972 to 2007. Wright is the author of numerous articles that have appeared in <I>Penny-Wise</B></I> since the earliest issues in the 1960s. He participated in the 1996 Coinage of the Americas Conference, and is the author of <I>The Cent Book</B></I>, a reference on the large cents of 1816 to 1839, published in 1992.<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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