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Sale 54
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Lot 236
1797 NC-8 R8+ (Unique) Stemless Wreath. VF-20 Plus. Breen and Noyes Plate Coin. Sharpness VF30 but the surfaces are covered with minute roughness that is effectively hidden under a rather glossy dark chocolate and steel brown patina. No verdigris, only a few contact marks. These include a small rim nick under the 1 in the date and a light rim bruise left of the hair ribbon and the opposing D in UNITED. The rim bruise was carefully smoothed and the dentils were strengthened on both sides to help hide the mark. The strengthened dentils over the D in UNITED are relatively crude. A couple more tiny rim nicks at the top of the reverse are the only additional marks worthy of mention. The entire edge displays very fine smoothing marks from additional efforts to remove other tiny rim nicks. (The edge smoothing marks raise the possibility that this cent is a "put-together" S-131 obverse and S-143 reverse. A careful examination confirms this is a single planchet without any seam or other evidence of being a product of two different cents. The weight is 164.8 grains, which is close to the 168 grain standard at the time. Called VF35 net VF25 in the Bland census. Noyes says VF35 net VF20, photo #25153. Plated in the Noyes and Breen books to illustrate the variety (they had no options, of course). By the way, it is this cataloger’s opinion that the reverse is in a later die state than when it was used during the S-143 marriage, which would alter the accepted emission sequence for the cents of 1797. While the reverse is clearly from the same die on both varieties, the wreath details are more delicately defined on the NC-8 suggesting that the S-143 reverse die was heavily lapped prior to its use in the NC-8 marriage. And the die "crack" under D in UNITED described by Breen for the early state of the S-143 reverse is actually a die line that fades out as that die wears during the S-143 marriage. Breen’s research into the emission sequence for the early cents made a tremendous contribution to our hobby, but some adjustments are in order. DWH #1783.
Estimated Value $25,000-UP.
Ex Ed Sedo (E & E Coins) 1980-Ed Kucia (who had this cent in his collection attributed as S-131 until 1985 when the difference was noted) 9/3/88-Daniel W. Holmes, Jr. (one of 33 pieces in the Ed Kucia collection of 1797 cents purchased intact by Dan on that date) 9/18/95-R. S. Brown, Jr., Superior 1/27/96:203.
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