Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

EF-40 Sharpness of AU-55 but edge dents. American Auction Association 12/1975: 407 $1,400 • Julian Leidman • Robert L. Hughes Enterprises • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries 11/1976: 407 $725 • Robert L. Hughes Enterprises • Robert L. Hughes Enterprises 2/1978: 56 $615 • Robert L. Hughes Enterprises • Anthony Terranova • Herman Halpern • Stack's 3/1988: 81 $2,860 • Julian Leidman • 1988 ANA (Heritage Numismatic Auctions '3): 48 $3,600 • Andrew P. Lustig • Stack's 1/1989: 235 $3,960 • Andrew P. Lustig • Mid-American.

Rare Coin Auctions 5/1989: 6 $2,750 • Martin Paul (The Rarities Group) • Superior Galleries 10/1989: 3424 $3,960 • Martin Paul (The Rarities Group) • unknown. Heritage Numismatic Auctions 3/1995: 5011 $3,740.

EF-40 W. W. Hays, 1900 • Chas. Steigerwalt, 1906 • Charles G. Zug • Lyman H. Low 3/1907: 15 $3.50 • unknown • Wayte Raymond 11/1921 • George H. Clapp. ANS. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Frossard-Hays.

EF-40 Howard R. Newcomb, privately • Consignment Jolip • Stack's 10/1956: 5 $32.50 • unknown. Lester Merkin e C. Douglas Smith • Gordon J. Wrubel, 12/1975 • Denis W. Loring, 7/1981 • John G. Wood • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries RCR #41, November 1981 $2,395 • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries RCR '44, June 1982 $2,395 • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries RCR '45, August 1982 $1,995.

EF-40 Hans M. F. Schulman 12/1966: 1628 $165 • Consignment BG • Stack's 12/1969: 544 $260.

EF-40 With minor planchet roughness through the upper legend. Stephen Fischer • Thomas D. Reynolds FPL #88, 2-3/1997 $5,900.

VF-35 From England • Leon Chassanoff • Lighthouse Galleries 12/1977: 8. Leon Chassanoff • Chuck Furjanic • Jim McGuigan • Denis W. Loring, 5/7/1983 • Jack H. Robinson • Superior Galleries 1/1989: 104 $2,420 • Wes A. Rasmussen. State II.

VF-35 Sharpness of EF-45 but scraping at 7 and two edge dents; cleaned and recolored. John V. Blady • Stack's 9/1986: 183 $2,200 • Robert E. Matthews • Superior Galleries 5/1989: 192 $1,980 • Daniel W. Holmes, Jr.

VF-35 Robert J. Kissner • Stack's 6/1975: 257 $430 • C. Douglas Smith. Obverse illustrated in Morley.

VF-35 New England Rare Coin Auctions 7/1978: 66 $600.

Obverse 31. Coarse hair in low relief with the third and fifth locks long. Plain shoulder loop. Widest date, spaced 1 794. The 1 is closer to the curl point than to 7, and far from the latter-more than the width of the 7 away. Wide LIBERTY.

Reverse MM. The space between ribbons is unusually narrow. Double leaf under OF (normally triple), its outer leaf facing edgewise. Five of the eight leaves flanking ONE are twisted. The top left leaf is bent upwards and is unusually far from its right hand neighbors. Six berries left and seven right. F and A(M) are repunched.

Die states: 1. No obverse crack.

II. Crack from the rim along the lower edge of the pole, later extending into the neck.

III. Triple clash marks: obverse above and below the cap, below the chin, and before the brow. Reverse clash marks from the bust in the field below s 0, and from hair in the wreath below TAT. (On worn examples these may not show clearly.) The first obverse crack becomes increasingly heavy. The second crack continues from the truncation across the lowest lock into the field.

IV. Third obverse crack slants down to the right from the brow into the field opposite the nose, becoming extremely faint as it approaches the border.

Equivalents: Maris 31, "Distant 1." Frossard 26.

Doughty 51. Hays 44. McGirk4F. Ross 27-DD. Chapman 52. Sheldon 66. EAC 56. Encyclopedia 1667.

High Rarity 5.

Remarks: Layout and hair copy obverse 30, but with smaller dentils.

The reverse is of a different style from anything previous. It may have been John Smith Gardner's first work, before he had time to complete a device punch for cents. It outlasted the first two Gardner obverses.

Sheldon used to call this the "Split Pole." Entirely aside from the actual location of the crack, this nickname hardly fits the uncracked die state.

Probably comprised only about 500 of the November 12 delivery.