Lot 425
1838 N-10 R1 PCGS graded MS65RB. PCGS graded MS-65 Red & Brown. Lustrous mint red fading to bluish steel and olive brown, at least a third of the faded mint red remaining on both sides. The toning on the obverse is delicately mottled with some slightly lighter brown tones. Great eye appeal. The only defect worthy of mention is a faint trace of an old fingerprint around stars 9-11. EDS with a weak die crack reaching down from the dentils right of the M in AMERICA arcing toward the left side of that M but fading out before reaching it. Your cataloger has never seen an example that did not have at least a trace of this crack, although an uncracked example may exist. The early state of this variety is easily confused with the N-9 variety because you expect to see a more obvious die crack reaching to the M, and when you don't see the crack you default to the N-9 attribution. That must be what happened on this cent, because it was misattributed as N-9 by all the previous owners (including Ted Naftzger), and the error was perpetuated by the census takers Bill Noyes and Del Bland who list this piece in the census for N-9. PCGS also attributes this piece as N-9 on the slab label, so don't be confused when you see the misattribution on the slab. Anyway, Noyes calls this piece MS65 and that makes it tied for finest known honors with one other piece in his census for the N-10 variety, his photo #28730. Bland says MS65+, which places this piece as CC#1 in his census for N-10. Our grade is MS64+, close to MS65. PCGS Population 1; none finer.
Estimated Value $2,000-UP.
Ex Philip G. Strauss, Stack's 5/59:356-Emanuel Taylor 10/60.
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| Realized $1,725 |
