Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Obverse 5. "Club Pole" is long, distant from the bust, and narrow at the throat, expanding to a club shape. Point of the top lock is heavy and blunt. Wide curved date, free of the device with all digits leaning right. L touches the cap and traces of repunching are visible on the left upright of Y.

Reverse F. Polished to remove clash marks. Die states: I. No cracks.

II. Cracked from the rim to the right corner of 7 and the shoulder loop. Left base of T is weak. Point of the top lock is lighter, possibly from die polishing.

Equivalents: Proskey 8. Doughty 78. Gilbert H. McGirk 3C. Ross 5-E. Clapp-Newcomb H. Sheldon 88. EAC 9. Encyclopedia 1682.

Rarity 4.

Remarks: This obverse is similar to obverse I, and was probably made the same day. Aside from the obvious difference in the pole, the main difference is that on obverse 5, T is higher above the forelock. The obverse border is usually narrow and weak at the lower left.

Probably about 6,000 were coined.

An example was seen at the fall 1989 Long Beach convention with a clip at K-6:30. Jack Beymer reported a double struck example with the two impressions about 1600 apart. At least two flip-over double struck examples are known including an example in the Chris Victor-McCawley collection (illustrated above) with AMERICA replacing the date. See "Oops!" chapter.

Roger S. Cohen, Jr. identified a cut-down specimen of this variety as undertype for a 1795 half cent, number 6b, weighing 100.5 grains (6.51 grams). (Half Cent Encyclopedia, p.l54; Penny-Wise, no. 77,3/15/1980, pp.85-6.) The coin was in the collection of Dr. Howard W. Whitaker, of Savannah, Tennessee. When was this half cent struck? The Cent Book 1796-1803 (Voigt's workbook, in the Archives) mentions 33 pounds of spoiled cents cut down for use as half cent planchets, March 9, 1796, and probably included among 2,000 delivered on March 12. Others delivered on March 18, March 21, April 19, and June 8 may have included cent stock pieces, mixed with planchets cut down from tokens and with regular rolled stock blanks. Cent delivery records for 1796, cited at the beginning of this chapter, give inclusive dates of April 18-May 10. The half cent overstrike must have been included in the deliveries of April 19 (3,350) or June 8 (1,740), most likely the latter.

Condition Census:

AU-50 David Proskey • Henry C. Hines • Lillian Scheer, 1948 • Homer K. Downing • 1952 ANA (New Netherlands Coin Co. #38): 1724 $500 • Dr. William H. Sheldon, 4/19/1972 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23/1992 • Eric Streiner, 5/1992 • John Whitney. Obverse illustrated in Early American Cents and in Penny Whimsy. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Noyes.

VF-35 Jim McGuigan, 6/1975 • Myles Z. Gerson • Del Bland • Jeffrey Oliphant. State I.
VF-35 Purchased unattributed on 8/8/1989 at the ANA convention from Mike Bianco by Douglas F. Bird • Michael Kramer • Bowers and Merena 9/1994: 1130 $2,750.

VF-30 Sharpness of AU-50 but burnished. New Netherlands Coin Co., privately 12/1945 • Joseph H. Spray • Stack's 4/1978: 84 $1,300 • Charles E. Harrison.

VF-25 Howard R. Newcomb • J. C. Morgenthau & Co. #458, 2/1945: 91 $50 • George H. Clapp • ANS. State II. Obverse illustrated in Clapp-Newcomb.

VF-25 Hollinbeck Kagin Coin Co. • Leonard W. Stark (Central Coin Mart) • Hollinbeck Kagin Coin Co. • Hollinbeck Kagin Coin Co. ##297, 5/1972: 181 $770.

VF-20 Sharpness of EF-40 but burnished. Charles J. Dupont. Stack's 9/1954: 119 $180 • Dorothy Paschal • Robert Mandel - Earl Moses • Stack's 9/1987: 358 $577.50 • Robinson, Victor-McCawley (RVM). VF-20 MauriceA. Storck • Kagin's Numismatic Auc-tions ##340, 1/1986: 4144 $1,430 • Wes A. Rasmussen.

VF-20 Stephen Fischer • Dr. Robert J. Shalowitz • Dr. C. R. Chambers, 5 /1989 • Dennis Mendelson, 7/15/1991 • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Stamp & Coin Co. 1/1996: 123 1,595 • Jack H. Beymer.

VF-20 Sharpness of EF-40 but sUrfaces rough and flaking. Lester Merkin 10/1966: 100 $400.

VF-20 Dr. George P. French, 3/21/1929 .·B. Max Mehl FPL, 1929: 104 $60 • T. James Clarke, 1944 • B. Max Mehl • Dr. Christian A. Allenburger • B. Max Mehl #111, 3/ 1948: 395 $52.50.

VF-20 Bowers and Merena 11/1986: 2827 $935.

F-15 Henry Chapman, via Miss Ella Wright, 1937 • S. W. Freeman • Abner Kreisberg and Hans M. F. Schulman 5/ 1958: 1120 $52.50 • Willard C. Blaisdell • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Galleries 9/1986: 116 $660 • Dan Demeo. State II.

F-15 Henry A. Sternberg. M.H. Bolender #190, 3/1956: 1589 $65 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • New Netherlands Coin Co. 11/1973: 407 $180 • John M. Ward, Jr.

F-15 Double struck on both sides. Numismatics, Ltd. FPL #12, Spring 1982 $1,500 •William Arbuckle • Robert W. Everett (Classical American Coins), 4/14/1989 • Del Bland, 4/1989 • Dennis Mendelson, 10/26/1989 • Dr . Robert J. Shalowitz • Dennis Mendelson • Anthony Terranova, 6/1995 • John Whitney.

F-15 Robert D. Book, 5 /1930 • George H. Clapp • ANS • Dr. William H. Sheldon • Dorothy Paschal.