Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Obverse 25. Broken serifs to v, In the date, 17 are close with a spine atop 1. Field chips below the ribbon, near Land Y, and from the rim into field toward the lowest curl.

Reverse Y. Type of 1799. E(D) wide and perfect. E(S) narrow with left base gone. Left top serif of M is gone. C(E) has a flat top and a spine for its serif. The fraction bar is unusually short. No center dot. Usually identified by the cracks and clash marks described below.

Edge: Plain edge (PE) and beaded edge (BE).

Die states: 1. No clash marks on either side. Reverse is cracked from the rim into the field left of the fraction. Clapp 27b-Xb. Rare.

II. Several sets of obverse clash marks (late with at least six sets) below the ribbon and chin. Reverse clash marks from LIBER at fraction and from top of the head above the fraction bar and right, the curl point piercing the fraction bar near its end.

III. Reverse ground down to efface clash marks, and again clashed. This time the clash marks from LIBER are lower, the curl point is right of the base of the numerator. Die chip right of the top of F. Clapp 27b-Xc.

IV. Obverse has a short radial crack from the rim about 7:30, pointing to the third curl from the bottom. Ground down to efface clash marks with weak border, chips below the ribbon remain. Reverse reground, the right stem end is very thin and the numerator tapers down. Outer berries below M and R are now stemless and isolated, some other berries now have very thin stems. Double clash marks: from the upper ribbon end near NI; two profiles in the wreath opposite ERICA, from top of head nearly touching (c)A, from top of the head at the fraction, and the curl point is buried in right ribbon. Obverse die must have been loose, misaligned by rotation.

V. Obverse reground with the curl point gone. Reverse repolished with both wreath stems again thinner, lowest right leaf weak and its stem faint, and other leaf stems attenuated. The numerator is tapered still more. Clash marks from the head at end of the left stem (no curl point), from nose in field below R. State" A." (Penny-Wise, no. 42, 5/11/1974, p. 108.)

Equivalents: Clapp 34. Sheldon 174. EAC 35. Low Rarity 2.

Remarks: ANS has a brockage from Henry Chapman, 11/1926.

Condition Census:

AU-55 Inherited from his father by James G. Macallister, 1929. Henry C. Hines. Dr. William H. Sheldon, 4/19/1972 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23/1992 • Eric Streiner, 4/2/1992 • Thomas D. Reynolds. Reverse illustrated in Early American Cents and in Penny Whimsy. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Noyes.

AU-55 Charles F. Dunston • Thomas L. Elder 1/1931: 1196 $14.75 • Carl Wurtzbach • Charles Wheeler • 1976 ANA (Stack's): 351 $700 • Fred Sweeney Rare Coins • Kenneth M. Goldman, 8/1977 • Denis W. Loring, 8/1977 • Myles Z. Gerson • Bertram Cohen, 3/1982 • G. Lee Kuntz • Superior Galleries 10/1991: 195 $5,060 • Thomas D. Reynolds.

ANA (Stack's): 351 $700 • Fred Sweeney Rare Coins • Kenneth M. Goldman, 8/1977 • Denis W. Loring, 8/1977 • Myles Z. Gerson • Bertram Cohen, 3/1982 • G. Lee Kuntz • Superior Galleries 10/1991: 195 $5,060 • Thomas D. Reynolds.

AU-55 M. A. Brown • S. H. & H. Chapman 4/1897: 778 $11 • George H. Earle, Jr. • Henry Chapman 6/1912: 3411 $10 • S. H. Chapman • Howard R. Newcomb • J. C. Morgenthau & Co. #458, 2/1945: 248 $52.50 • Numismatic Gallery FPL, 1945:.420 $95 • A. Kosoff (Numismatic Gallery), 5/15/1947 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • New Netherlands Coin Co. 11/1973: 489 $650 • Julian Leidman • Del Bland • Jack H. Beymer, 7/14/1974 • C. Douglas Smith. State III. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Clapp.

AU-50 Charles M. Williams • Numismatic Gallery #68, 11/1950: 152A $58 • Harold Bareford, 9/13/1985 • Herman Halpern • Stack's 3/1988: 161 $2,310 • Thomas D. Reynolds.

AU-50 Bowers and Ruddy Galleries 4/1978: 53 $430 • J. J. Teaparty.

AU-50 Joseph French Maley • Washington Coin Exchange 3/1967: 14 • unknown • Stack's 11/1995: 1027 $2,420.

AU-50 Henry C. Hines • Judge Thomas L. Gaskill • New Netherlands Coin Co., privately 11/1956 • Dorothy Paschal • Gordon J. Wrubel • Chuck Furjanic • Jack H. Beymer • Myles Z. Gerson, 8/1977 • Denis W. Loring, 8/1977 • Michael Burton • Marvin Shear.

EF-45 With some blunt striking. Hugh Campbell. Del Bland • Dr. Dane B. Nielsen. John G. Wood.

EF-45 R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • Abner Kreisberg 6/1963: 186 $330 • C. Douglas Smith. Dr. Philip W. Ralls.

EF-45 Sharpness of AU-55 but obverse handling marks. Purchased unattributed on 4/24/1993 by Richard Binette.

EF-40 Ray Chatham, 1973 • Robinson S. Brown, Jr .• Superior Galleries 9/1986: 247 $1,210. • Jeffrey Oliphant.

EF-40 Al Overton (Overton Coin Co.), 2/1971 • Frank DuVall.

EF-40 Clinton Hollins, 1/1982 • Thomas D. Reynolds.

EF-40 Sharpness of AU-55 but stained on both sides with minute, raised corrosion through STATES to leaves below. Superior Galleries 1/1986: 331 $935.