1803 1C 100/000, BN MS(PCGS#911501)

August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1044

等级

MS64BN

价格

225,084

详细说明

Condition Census 1803 S-249 Cent Distinct Mumps Obverse / Corrected Fraction Variety 1803 Draped Bust Cent. S-249. Rarity-2. 1/100 Over 1/000. MS-64 BN (PCGS). CAC. Type:Draped Bust. Design: Obv: A draped bust of Liberty faces right with the word LIBERTY above and the date 1803 below. Liberty's hair is tied with a ribbon, the ends of which are plainly evident at the back of the head. Rev: A wreath surrounds the denomination ONE CENT, the base of the wreath bound by a ribbon tied into a bow. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around the border and another expression of the denomination 1/100 (corrected from 1/000) is below. Weight Standard: 10.89 grams. Diameter: 29 mm. Die Variety: Sheldon-249, Breen-7. Obv: Small Date, the digit 1 is blunt and close to both the lowest curve of the hair and the curl, the upper right corner of the digit 3 nearly touches the drapery. A die scratch arcs through Liberty's hair curls from the shoulder loop, and there is a prominent die lump under Liberty's jaw. This obverse die also appears in the S-246, S-247 and S-248 pairings. Rev: The Corrected Fraction variety with a 1 punched over the first digit 0 in the denominator, correcting the 1/000 blunder to 1/100. The 0 underdigit is still plainly visible. The corrected fraction is similar to that seen in the 1801 S-221 marriage, but this is a different die, the same reverse as used in the 1801 NC-3 pairing. S-249 is the only die marriage that corresponds to the 1/100 Over 1/000 Guide Bookvariety of the 1803 Draped Bust cent. Die State: Noyes F/C, Breen IV. Obv: The die is lightly bulged at the end of the bust with an arcing crack from the border after the digit 3 in the date, through the end of the bust and (faintly) back to the border at 4 o'clock. Rev: Lightly cracked from the border at 3:30 through the top of the letters RIC in AMERICA. Edge: Plain. Mintage: The mintage of 3,131,691 coins that the Guide Bookprovides for the 1803 Draped Bust cent corresponds to the Mint's deliveries for this denomination during calendar year 1803 -- 2,471,353 coins -- plus all but 96,500 of the 756,838 cents (660,338) delivered during calendar year 1804. While many 1803-dated cents were certainly struck during calendar year 1804 (and possibly as late as 1806), the mintage of this issue remains an estimate since we do not know exactly how many 1804-dated cents were struck, or even when all of those coins were produced (they may also have been delivered during calendar year 1805, possibly even 1806). Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-2: 751 to 1,000 coins in all grades. Strike: The strike is boldly executed, the obverse well centered within a fully denticulated border, the reverse drawn trivially to 1 o'clock with no denticulation evident at the upper right. A few leaves in the left branch of the wreath are blunt, but otherwise we note sharp to full definition to all design elements. Surfaces: A highly attractive coin with dominant medium brown toning. Iridescent steel-blue highlights are evident within the protected areas around many of the design elements, especially on the reverse. There are also ample remnants of faded pinkish-rose in the fields. Frosty in texture with good gloss, the appearance is overall smooth with most areas close to pristine. A shallow planchet depression in the obverse field before Liberty's profile is as made, tiny spots before Liberty's nose and in the right reverse field below the letter E in AMERICA are noted for accuracy. More significant for provenance purposes are a tiny nick in the reverse field below the letter N in ONE and a series of more or less vertical pin scratches in the center of the reverse over and around the letters in the denomination ONE CENT. Commentary: With a total of six such listings, the 1803 has more Guide Bookvarieties than any other date in the Draped Bust cent series of 1796 to 1807. Along with the S-243 Stemless Wreath, S-249 is the most readily attributable due to the corrected fraction on the reverse. The obverse also has a readily identifiable diagnostic -- the die lump below Liberty's chin that explains this variety's other popular nickname: Mumps Obverse. The earliest known auction appearance of this example was in Lester Merkin's sale of March 1967, where it was described as, "A fantastic coin, beyond doubt one of three top specimens, the other two being Helfenstein's at $2000 and Dr. Sheldon's." This coin's status as one of the finest known survivors from the 1803 S-249 dies has stood the test of time. Tied for CC#5 in the Bland census with an EAC grade of AU-55, the 2015 Noyes census says AU55(MS60) Average and tied for CC#4. With the outstanding quality and eye appeal that we have come to expect from the ESM large cents, strong bidding is recommended for collectors seeking to secure this beautiful example. Provenance: From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex Lester Merkin's sale of March 1967, lot 177; C. Douglas Smith; Gordon J. Wrubel; New England Rare Coin Galleries' Fixed Price List #4, 1975; Gene Reale; Sotheby's sale of the Gene Reale Collection, January 1998, lot 38; Dr. Wallace Lee; Superior's sale of the Dr. Wallace Lee Collection, May 2003 Pre-Long Beach Elite Coin Auction, lot 521; Heritage's sale of the Joshua and Ally Walsh Collection of United States Cents, January 2006 FUN Signature Auction, lot 3028; our (Bowers and Merena's) Baltimore Auction of March 2006, lot 68. The plate coin for Die State F/C in the 2015 edition of the Noyes large cent reference. PCGS Population: 3; 0 finer. There are no RB or RD examples certified. PCGS# 911501. Click here for certification details from PCGS.