Lot 1511
1811 Classic Head Cent. ANACS graded Sharpness of AU-58 Damaged. An attractive brown coin with sharp details, some areas that are steel colored and lightly porous. A mark in the right obverse field and rim and a mark above the second T in States (PCGS # 1555) .
A whole lotta shakin' going on: In the winter of 1811-12, the year this large cent made its debut, the central Mississippi Valley was struck by three of the most powerful earthquakes in U.S. history. The 400 terrified residents in the town of New Madrid, Missouri, were abruptly awakened by violent shaking and a tremendous roar. It was December 16, 1811, and a powerful earthquake had just struck. This was the first of three magnitude-8 earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks to rock the region that winter.
Survivors reported that the earthquakes caused cracks to open in the earth's surface, the ground to roll in visible waves, and large areas of land to sink or rise. The crew of the New Orleans (the first steamboat on the Mississippi, which was on her maiden voyage) reported mooring to an island only to awake in the morning and find that the island had disappeared below the waters of the Mississippi River. Damage was reported as far away as Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C.
Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,800.
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| Realized $1,438 |
