Lot 2285
1851 Pattern Cent. Copper-nickel, reeded edge, unperforated restrike. PCGS graded Proof 65. Pop 2; probable the same coin. The attempt to produce an acceptable ring cent was continued using a different design but the same alloy and weight as in 1850. The reasons why the ring cent was not adopted are outlined by the Director of the Mint in a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, dated May 26, 1854. He explained that the cost of recovering the silver would exceed the value of the bullion and that the mechanical difficulties in making ring cents are not trivial. They lie not in planchet cutting but in stamping and ejecting the coins from the dies. I estimate that most of the value of a cent so formed would be sunk in the cost of striking.
All the copper-nickel pieces and all the unperforated ones in this series are restrikes (PCGS # 11558) .
Estimated Value $11,000 - 13,000.
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