Lot 32
1794 Liberty Cap Cent. "Head of 1793". PCGS graded AU-58. Lovely, reddish-brown surfaces, glossy and free from porosity. A remarkable example of this date and certainly one of the finest, if not THE finest, examples of the variety. Die characteristics of the obverse include a tiny crack by the denticle at 8:00 and light swelling of the die just below the cap. On the reverse, some old, light scratches can be seen at upper left. Minor carbon spots by the E and R of AMERICA.
Calling this "Finest Known" for the variety is a dangerous prospect because of the sometimes large disparity between "commercial" and "EAC" (unofficial grading standards of the Early American Coppers Club) grading. One often sees catalog descriptions such as "PCGS EF-40, Del Bland VF-30" (Del is a friend and a copper coin specialist), clearly illustrating the differences between the two systems. As far as the present coin goes, it may indeed be the finest example known. It is clearly finer than the Noyes plate coin, the Breen Large Cent Encyclopedia coin and the PCGS AU-55 (Del Bland VF-25!) coin we sold in the first part of the Benson collection in 2001. Thus, this coin has considerable appeal to both sides of the market.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 30,000.
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| Realized $32,200 |
