Lot 565
1855 N-9 Slanting 5's, Knob on Ear. NGC graded MS-63 Brown. Lustrous light to medium chocolate brown and steel with a substantial spot of reddish chocolate toning in the field right of the inner curl. Peeps of faded mint red can be found on the reverse. The only marks other than the spot are microscopic and insignificant, but the red spot does catch your eye. Nicely struck EDS but not the earliest, Grellman state b late or c early. There are numerous spidery die cracks in the hair under RTY down to the top of the ear, but the "Knob" break is not clearly defined by these cracks. The die cracks are sharp. In addition, the obverse fields are covered with fine die polishing lines extending NNE to SSW while the reverse fields show similar but less obvious polishing lines from NW to SE. Obviously these dies were nearly new. (FYI, die state a showing no die cracks at RTY is unknown.) A sharp example of an interesting die state of this popular "Redbook" variety. Our grade is AU58+, very close to MS60. And it comes with a nice provenance.
Estimated Value $400-UP.
Ex Jascha Heifetz, Superior 10/1/1989:933-Evan Kopald, McCawley & Grellman Auctions 1/9/1993:427-Wes Rasmussen, McCawley & Grellman Auctions/Superior 2/8/1998:483-Chris McCawley-Dennis Mendelson, McCawley & Grellman Auctions/Superior 9/21/1998:1812-Jack Wadlington.
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| Realized $690 |
