1806 1C, BN MS(PCGS#1513)

August 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1051

等级

MS63BN

价格

133,383

详细说明

Mint State 1806 Cent Underrated Condition Rarity Finer than the Garrett, Eliasberg and Norweb Specimens 1806 Draped Bust Cent. S-270, the only known dies. Rarity-1. MS-63 BN (PCGS). Type:Draped Bust. Design: Obv: A draped bust of Liberty faces right with the word LIBERTY above and the date 1806 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 is below. Weight Standard: 10.89 grams. Diameter: 29 mm. Die Variety: Sheldon-270, Breen-1. Obv: The only 1806-dated die in the United States Mint's cent series, here in its only pairing. The digit 1 in the date is pointed. Rev: The highest leaf on the right branch of the wreath is beyond the right side of the final letter S in STATES. This die also appears in the S-268 and S-269 pairings of the 1805-dated issue. S-270 is the only die marriage known for the 1806 Draped Bust cent, therefore the date has only a single listing in the Guide Book. Die State: Noyes C/B, Breen III. Obv: Lightly clashed in the field before and below Liberty's chin with a faint crack from the lower border before the date into the lowest hair curls. A second, more irregular die break extends into the field from the border at 4 o'clock. Light die swell is discernible in the upper right and lower left field areas. Rev: The die is worn with flowlines around the periphery and the denticulation fading. Edge: Plain. Mintage: 348,000 coins for calendar year 1806, some of which were almost certainly struck from 1803, 1805 and/or even 1804-dated dies. Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-1: More than 1,500 coins in all grades. Strike: A nicely centered example with a near-fully denticulated obverse border, reverse border with scant denticulation due to die state, as above. The peripheral lettering on the reverse is also a bit soft due to die state, but the legend is fully legible. A bit lightly struck on the left branch of the wreath, the strike is sharper overall on the obverse, on which side we note particularly crisp detail to Liberty's portrait. Surfaces: Frosty golden-brown surfaces display generally even mellowing of original mint color. Splashes of warmer steel-brown patina are evident on Liberty's cheek and in the right obverse field, less so within the protected areas around a few of the leaf clusters in the wreath on the reverse. The surfaces are hard, tight, and smooth apart from a tiny spot in the hair behind Liberty's forehead, minuscule carbon fleck in the reverse field close to the leaf below the letter F in OF and a dull mark on the reverse border at the letter U in UNITED. Commentary: Under most circumstances an 1806 cent is not a coin that attracts attention. There is only one die variety known for the year, just like 1804 and 1809, but this date has never shared those years' flashy reputation for rarity. Circulated specimens are easily found and dropped into slots in date collections or variety sets, and then rarely considered again. Only collectors attempting to build collections of high quality Mint State coins ever realize just how challenging this issue can be. In the William Festus Morgan sale of 1932, which cataloged a collection built on the premise of quality, James Macallister devoted more space to the 1806 than any of the 1793s, 1799s, 1804s, or any other lot except for the Jefferson Head cent. Calling Morgan's 1806 "the finest 1806 cent we have ever seen," Macallister noted "the rarity of the cents of this year in Uncirculated condition has never been appreciated; we don't recall one that brought much over $100 while 1793s which are common by comparison have brought up to $1000." The coin Macallister was describing sold in Ira & Larry Goldberg's 2009 sale of the Dan Holmes Collection as PCGS MS-63 BN. As late as 2013, when the Paul Gerrie specimen sold, MS-63 BN was the highest grade ever assigned to an 1806 cent by PCGS. Husak's was PCGS AU-50, Rasmussen's was NGC AU-55, and Robbie Brown never owned one better than EF. Garrett and Eliasberg both owned circulated examples, and Norweb's was only Fine. Here, then, is a significant offering for advanced large cent enthusiasts. The ESM specimen is tied for CC#5 in the Bland census with an EAC grade of MS-60. The 2015 Noyes census says MS62(MS60) Average Plus and tied for CC#3. Provenance: From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex Paramount International Coin Corp.'s Grand Central Auction Sale of November 1976, lot 77; R. Cooper; NASCA's Matthew Bryan Collection sale, November 1977, lot 139; C. Douglas Smith; Dr. Dane B. Nielsen; C. Douglas Smith; Bertram Cohen, March 30, 1985; C. Douglas Smith; Dr. Robert A. Schuman; Superior's sale of September 2004, lot 593. The plate coin for Die State C/B in the 2015 edition of the Noyes large cent reference. PCGS Population: 4; 2 finer in this category (MS-65 BN finest). There is also an MS-66 RB listed at this service, the Halpern-Naftzger-Reynolds specimen. PCGS# 1513. Click here for certification details from PCGS.