Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Obverse 21. Very similar to the preceding. The second and fourth locks are long and doubled. The top two locks are long, with upturned ends and all have brushlike tips. RTY are farther apart than on obverse 20 or 22. No shoulder loop. Close date with 4 touching the bust and 1 almost touching the hair.

Reverse BB. Usually weak at the right border. On some specimens the dentils are not visible above AMERICA; on others the dentils are not visible above CA and below the fraction.

Die states: 1. Perfect dies. Reverse reground to remove clash marks. The lower stroke of the left ribbon bow is very thin and faint.

II. Cracked from the rim, between 17, toward the hair. Very rare.

III. The crack of state IT forks with a branch extending through 79 to the bust, and eventually, above the bust point through the pole to the rim. Very rare.

IV. Another crack from the left rim to the second curl and into the hair, eventually meeting the first crack. Very rare.

Equivalents: Maris 47. Hays 10. McGirk 9C. Ross 7-D. Chapman 37. Sheldon 51. EAC 40. Encyclopedia 1668.

Low Rarity 5.

Remarks: Obverses 20, 21, 22 are very similar, probably made on the same day or successive days. The resemblances are strong enough that misattributions have been frequent: see variety 43.

Believed to be part of the June 25 delivery.

Condition Census:

EF-45 Henry C. Miller • Thomas L. Elder 4/1917: 662 $52 • Henry C. Hines • Dr. William H. Sheldon, 4/19/1972 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • New Netherlands Coin Co. 11/1973: 372 $2,000 • John W. Adams • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries FPL, 1982: 46 $3,500 • Denis W. Loring, 5/7/1983 • Jack H. Robinson • Superior Galleries 1/1989: 89 $8,800. Dr. Allen Bennett, 1/20/1998 • Walter Husak. State I. Obverse illustrated in Morley. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Noyes.

EF-45 W. W. Hays, 1900 • Chas. Steigerwalt, 1906 • Charles G. Zug • Lyman H. Low 3/1907: 10 $8 • C. H. Stearns • Mayflower Coin Auctions 12/1966: 308 $425 • Alfred Bonard. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Frossard Hays.

EF-40 Sharpness of AU-55 but minutely porous with some corrosion. L. P. Jones • Thomas L. Elder 6/1922: 410 • Charles E. Clapp, Sr., 12/1924 • George H. Clapp • ANS.

EF-40 E. Gilbert • Thomas L. Elder #44, 10/1910: 10 $32 • H. O. Granberg • William H. Woodin • The United States Coin Co. 5/1915: 92 $29 • Howard R. Newcomb • J. C. Morgenthau & Co. #458, 2/1945: 26 $82.50 • Wayte Raymond • New Netherlands Coin Co., privately. Dr. William H. Sheldon • Homer K. Downing • 1952 ANA (New Netherlands Coin Co. #38): 1646 $280 • A. Kosoff • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • Early American Coppers 5/1990: 24 $7,000 • Daniel W. Holmes, Jr. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Elder-Gilbert and in Chapman. Obverse illustrated in Early American Cents and in Penny Whimsy.

VF-35 Dr. G. F. E. Wilharm. • B. Max Mehl #59, 2/ 1921: 1324A $22. B. Max Mehl, privately. Frank Hussey • New Netherlands Coin Co. #54, 4/1960: 1354 $195 • C. Douglas Smith, 1965 • Alfred Bonard • Numismatic Enterprises 2/1968: 28 $500 • Alfred Bonard • Stack's 1/1969: 172 $400 • Alfred Bonard • Lester Merkin 10/1972: 522 $775 • Hollinbeck Kagin Coin Co. • Kagin's Numismatic Auctions #304, 11/1974: 723 $2,600 • Kagin's • Kenneth D. Pines.

VF-35 Sharpness of EF-45 but edge dents, nicks and a scratch. Purchased in 1949 for $15 as "H-7 or C-31 Un-circulated" by Judge Thomas L. Gaskill • New Netherlands Coin Co., privately 11/1956 • Dorothy Paschal • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Galleries 9/1986: 69 $3,190 • Bertram Cohen • George E. Ewing, Jr. • Early American Coppers 4/1994: 175 $4,600 .• Wes A. Rasmussen. State II.

VF-30 Dr. Augustine Shurtleff, 2/27/1901 • Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) • 1976 ANA (Stack's): 231 $525 • Del Bland, 9/17/1984 • Fred H. Borcherdt.

VF-30 Robert J. Kissner • Stack's 6/1975: 250 $480 • Denis W. Loring, 8/1982 • Del Bland • Donald H. Petersen • Superior Galleries 2/1992: 708 $3,300 • Dr. Allen Bennett, 4/4/1992 • Eric Streiner • Superior Galleries 10/1992: 68 $2,310 • Donn Militzer • Chris Victor-McCawley (CVM), 11/30/1996 • W. M. "Jack" Wadlington.