Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Obverse 20.

Reverse AA. Thin wreath with heavy leaves, in layout and style much like reverses BB, CC, and DD, with the right ribbon leaning inward. Fraction is skewed to the right and spaced 10 0 with the final 0 very close to the right ribbon. Upper leaf of the pair at UN has an irregularly elongated tip. Triplet at OF is tight and narrow. Extra long stem to leaf pair above (N}E. Outer leaf below (R)I is short. Five berries left and six right with one very minute berry left of the inner leaf pair left of ONE. The knot and right ribbon are both defective. In UNITED, U is above N. In STATES, ATE are increasingly widely spaced. In AMERICA, AME are increasingly widely spaced with A far above M and leaning left; R leans right with its tail below I. O(N) leans right. In CENT, E and T each lean right. Borders are weak.

Die states: I. Obverse without the crack of number 41. Repunching at u is not visible, but the condition of both specimens precludes certainty. Clash marks at the throat. Reverse has a plain crack from the rim between 00 through the fraction bar almost at its right end, through the right stem where it crosses the left, up through the right bow into the field pointing to the right foot of the left base of N(T).

II. The crack is now very heavy, extending through the middle of N(T}, right upright of N(E), bending to the right, through the top right double leaf, and between S 0 to the rim.

Equivalents: Not in Sheldon, later called ''NC-9.'' EAC 38. Encyclopedia 1668.

Rarity 8. Only two reported.

Remarks: Discovered January 3, 1974, at Chuck Furjanic's bourse table at the Miami International Coin Show and first reported in Penny- Wise. (No. 41,3/15/1974, p. 78. Also, Smith, The Story of the Starred Reverse Cent, p. 9.)

This is the first of four hand cut reverse dies of distinctively crude style found nowhere else in the series, apparently by an apprentice ("office boy reverses"); the others are BB, CC, and DD, below.' (Editor's Note: Sheldon used the "office boy reverse" name to describe reverse CC (his number 56) only. This term has been expanded to describe four different reverse dies.) Tentatively attributed to Frederick Riche, for reasons mentioned at number 37.

Probably among those delivered June 24.

Condition Census:

VG-7 Purchased unattributed on 2/14/1986 at the Milwaukee Coin Show by Thomas D. Reynolds, 5/11/ 1986 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23/1992 • Eric Streiner • Thomas D. Reynolds. State 1. Obverse and reverse illus-trated in Noyes.

AG-3 Sharpness of F-12 but porous. Purchased unat-tributed on 1/3/1974 at the Mid-Winter convention in Miami Beach by Chuck Furjanic • Gordon J. Wrubel, 2/1974 • Denis W. Loring, 5/1974 • Dr. Robert J. Shalowitz • John W. Adams • Kagin's Numismatic Auctions #305, 1/1975: 476 $5,500 • John W. Adams • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Galleries 9/1986: 65 $4,400 • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Stamp & Coin Co. 1/1996: 68 $11,550 • Daniel W. Holmes, Jr. State II. Reverse illustrated in Morley and in Noyes.

No other examples have been reported.