Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Obverse 3. Reverse C

Edge: Plain. Struck on thin planchets, standard weight 168 grains (10.89 grams).

Die states: III. As in number 4a, heavily clashed. One specimen shows four clear sets of clash marks. (New Netherlands Coin Co., sale 59, 6/1967: 1201.)

IV. Swelling begins in the right obverse field. Faint double clash marks are visible before the throat, behind the head, in the upper left wreath, and near the fraction.

V. (After obverse 4 had its brief press run.) Both dies were polished to remove at least seven sets of clash marks. Pole is thinner but intact and borders are weaker. Traces of the clash marks remain in hair and at the throat. (Reverse C was then set aside and D put in use.)

VI. (After reverses D and E were discarded, reverse C was restored.) Both dies were drastically reground. Inner edges of the cap are weaker, dentils are narrower and spaced farther apart, pole is weak and disconnected (upper end away from throat and tip far from border), hollow places in the hair, and second and third locks are partly severed. Bulges develop right of Y, at border opposite the chin, above the pole, near the border right of 5, and left of the date. (U)N is weak, opposite top of the cap. A bulge progressively weakens RICA.

VII. Delicate crack from rim left of 1 to tip of second lock, cap, and rim. Reverse again reground with the right bow separate from the left and right stem away from the knot. Crumbling at OF, N(E), and C(E). Break from right top of final s.

VIII. Rim break obliterates most of R and all of IC, involving the left diagonal of A. Extremely rare.

IX. Rim break involves the tops of ED. Extremely rare, discovered about 1957 on a low-grade specimen. (Editor's note: die states VIII and IX may not exist. The ANS coins from which they were described appear to have planchet defects or later corrosion damage. Confirmation of these defects as rim breaks will have to wait until a second identical example of each appears.)

Equivalents: Proskey 5. Doughty 66. McGirk IB, 1C Clapp-Newcomb 4a. Sheldon 76b. EAC 4.

Encyclopedia 1674.

Rarity 1. Commonest of all Liberty Caps.

Remarks: Formed the vast majority of the 45,000 struck December 27-31, 1795, and delivered January 1, 1796. Later die states formed a considerable proportion of the 456,500 delivered between January 16 and March 31, 1796. See 1794 number 37 (Remarks) for a specimen allegedly overstruck on this 1795 variety.

Often with granular areas, weak at UN and much of the reverse border. Mint errors are plentiful: off centers, clips, even multiple clips, and multiple strikes. See "Oops!" chapter.

Condition Census:

MS-61 Allison W. Jackman • Henry Chapman 6/1918: 703 $29. Henry Chapman • Dr. George P. French, 3/ 21/1929 • B. Max Mehl FPL, 1929: 88 $75 • Henry A. Sternberg • J. c. Morgenthau & Co. #305, 4/1933: 12 $17 • T. James Clarke • Dr. William H. Sheldon, 4/19/1972 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23 /1992 • Eric Streiner • Jay Parrino (The Mint), 4/16/1996 • W. M. "Jack" Wadlington. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Noyes.

MS-61 Rodney T. Grove • Robert Nofal and Lewis Kling. Auction '81 (Superior Stamp & Coin Co.): 511 $12,500 • unknown • Heritage Numismatic Auctions #3, 6/1989: 959 $16,500 • Anthony Terranova.

MS-61 M. A. Brown • S. H. & H. Chapman 4/1897: 762 $34 • George H. Earle, Jr. • Henry Chapman 6/1912: 3391 $32 • S. H. Chapman. Dr. Christian A. Allenburger • B. Max Mehl #111, 3/1948: 376 $65 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr.• New Netherlands Coin Co. 11/1973: 397 $2,400 • Stack's.

MS-61 Heritage Numismatic Auctions #2, 3/1989: 14 $3,190 • Heritage Rare Coin Galleries • Heritage Numismatic Auctions #4, 10/1989: 31 $3.50 • Del Bland, 10/1989 • G. Lee Kuntz • Superior Galleries.10/1991: 86 $5,500 • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Stamp& Coin Co. 1/1996: 107 $8,250 • Chris Kromer.

M5-61 Col. E. H. R. Green. B. G. Johnson (St. Louis Stamp & Coin Co.), 5/29/1942 $60 • Thomas L. Elder, 8/4/1943 $85 • Leonard M. Holland • Pennypacker Auction Centre, 5/1959 $400. Dorothy Paschal.

MS-61 Ed. Frossard Collection • Ed. Frossard #37,101 1884: 837 $7 • consignor with initial "M" • S. H. Chapman • S. H. Chapman 6/1913: 472 $43 • Henry C. Hines. Homer K. Downing • 1952 ANA (New Netherlands Coin Co. #38): 1709 $100 • Elliot Landau • New Netherlands Coin Co. #52, 12/1958: 111 $140 • Stack's.