Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Obverse 11. Tall 7. All three leaves in the sprig lean right and the stem almost touches the top of 9.

Reverse I. Thin stems and a triangular bow with the top almost flat. Four trefoils as usual with the two outer ones opposite IT and R. End of a spike of berries forms a period after the final A. Legend and fraction are distant from the beads. The fraction is skewed to the right with final 0 high. Fraction bar is very faint, curved, and almost touching the right ribbon. On later die states, it may not show.

Edge: Vine and bars as before.

Die states: I. No visible clash marks. Faint ridge from O(N) to (CEN)T.

For later states, see variety 16b.

Equivalents: Crosby-Levick 9H. Frossard 9. Crosby 11-J. McGirk 2K. Sheldon 11a. EAC 16a. Encyclopedia 1644.

High Rarity 4.

Remarks: Edward Groh discovered this subvariety before 1869.

Believed to be the first 1,500 to 2,000 struck June 29, among 11,825 delivered July 6. Often found on defective planchets.

Usually 26 millimeters. The R. D. Book, ANS specimen is 28 millimeters.

Condition Census:

MS-63 A private collection • Thomas L. Elder 4/1920: 1352 $515 • Virgil M. Brand • New Netherlands Coin Co., privately 1/1955, $1,650 • Dr. William H. Sheldon, 4/19/1972 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23 /1992 • Eric Streiner • Jay Parrino (The Mint). Reverse illustrated in Penny Whimsy. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Noyes.

MS-60 Elmer S. Sears, 6/1925 • George H. Oapp • ANS • Dr. William H. Sheldon • Dorothy Paschal • Del Bland • Dr. Willard J. Carmel, Jr.

EF-45 Ed. Frossard, privately 9/1893 • Dr. Thomas Hall, 9/7/1909 • Virgil M. Brand • New Netherlands Coin Co., privately • Dr. William H. Sheldon • Richard Picker, 10/26/1955 • Dr. James O. Sloss, 9/1958 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • A. Kosoff 10/1959: 9 $1,400 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • New Netherlands Coin Co. 11/1973: 332 $4,000 • Julian Leidman • R. Tettenhorst • Jim McGuigan • Kenneth M. Goldman • Anthony Terranova • William Murray (Dynamic Coin Investments) • Loren Barnett • Thomas D. Reynolds. State I. Obverse illustrated in Crosby (1897).

EF-45 With a long line-like planchet defect in the left obverse field. Dr. George P. French, 3/21/1929 • B. Max Mehl FPL, 1929: 12 $275 • Henry A. Sternberg • J. C. Morgenthau & Co. #305, 4/1933: 8 $57.50 • Dr. William H. Sheldon • Charles R. Mathewson, 1955 • Copley Coin Co.• Dr. William H. Sheldon • ANS. State I.

EF-40 Sharpness of AU-50 but scratches and an edge dent. Joseph C. Mitchelson, 1913 • Connecticut State Library.

EF-40 Sharpness of AU-50 but a planchet defect on the lower reverse edge has been repaired by filling the missing portion of the coin and tooling in the denticles. This was done sometime after April 1979 as evidenced by the sale illustrations. T. James Clarke, 10/1954 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • A. Kosoff 10/1959: 8 $1,050 • Dorothy Nelson • Stack's 2/1976: 8 $2,200 • Kevin Lipton Rare Coins • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries 10/1976: 802 $4,000 • unknown • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries 4/1979: 997 $4,000 • Ed Hipps (Ed's Coin & Stamp Shop) • Superior Galleries 2/1981: 4 $15,000 • Dr. Haig Koshkarian, 1/1997 • John B. MacDonald.

VF-35 Dolloff Coin Center • Jerry Moskowitz • Robert L. Hughes Enterprises FPL, 3/1980 $5,495.

VF-30 Richard F. Peltzer • Glendining & Co., Ltd. (London) 6/1927: 97 • Philip G. Straus • Stack's 5/1959: 118 $340 • Corrado Romano (Worthy Coin Co.) • Rob Weiner • Stephen Fischer, 8/20/1985 • Richard S. Shimkus.

VF-30 Sharpness of EF-40 but repaired under TY. Paramount International Coin Corp. 11/1973: 820 $3,525 • unknown • Robert L. Hughes Enterprises 2/1978: 55 $3,500 • unknown • New England Rare Coin Auctions 7/1980: 887 $6,800.

VF-25 Christian M. Petersen • Hollinbeck. Coin Co. • Hollinbeck Kagin Coin Co. #220, 8/1958: 4 $1,550 • Hollinbeck. Kagin Coin Co. • Leo A. Young 2/1959: 1296 $610 • Hollinbeck. Kagin Coin Co. • Abner Kreisberg and Hans M. F. Schulman 2/1960: 885 $575 • Hollinbeck. Kagin Coin Co. • Philip E. Benedetti (Pickwick Stamp & Coin Co.) offered in Numismatic Scrapbook, 3/1961, at $2,500, not sold. Hollinbeck. Kagin Coin Co. • A. Kosoff 10/1961: 11 $1,100 • Hollinbeck. Kagin Coin Co. • Hollinbeck Kagin Coin Co. #292, 1/1971: 818 • Hollinbeck Kagin Coin Co. • Kagin's Numismatic Auctions '308, 10/1976: 779 $3,000 • Ed Hipps (Ed's Coin & Stamp Shop), 8/1980 • Dr. Robert J. Shalowitz • Stephen Fischer.

VF-25 Sharpness of VF-35 but traces of smoothing on edges. Superior Galleries 1/1989: 3088 $6,875 • John R. Frankenfield.

VF-25 Foster Lardner • The United States Coin Co. 11/1914: 9 $34 • Dr. George P. French, privately. unknown • Coin Galleries, privately 1956 • Robert Gildred • Kagin's Numismatic Auctions #331, 10/1983: 1004 $1,900 • Martin Paul (The Rarities Group).

VF-25 Jerry Moskowitz, 9/1980.

VF-25 Steve Ivy Rare Coin Co., privately 9/1981 • Dan Hamelberg.

VF-25 Oscar R. Tompkins • Thos. P. Warfield. Associated Coin Auction Co. 10/1955: 152 $125.