Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

MS-60 Henry C. Hines • T. James Clarke • Dr. William H. Sheldon • C. Douglas Smith, 8/14/1957 • A. Kosoff • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23/1992 • Eric Streiner • Jay Parrino (The Mint).

MS-60 Thomas E. Werner • Garry Fitzgerald • Lester Merkin 10/1972: 532A $2,300 • Donald G. Partrick • Stack's 5/1975: 561 $2,200 • Joe Flynn & Son Rare Coins • American Auction Association 12/1975: 272 $2,800 • Bowers and Ruddy Galleries FPL #26, 1976 $2,950 • Gene Reale • Sotheby's (New York) #7083, 1/1998: 29 $11,000 • John B. MacDonald.

MS-60 From a Detroit collection • Julian Leidman, 1/1980 • Dr. Dane B. Nielsen.

MS-60 From an unidentified New Netherlands Coin Co. sale in the 1960s • unknown • Norman W. Pullen.

AU-55 W. W. C. Wilson • Wayte Raymond for The Anderson Galleries #1996, 11/1925: 212 $160 • Henry C. Hines • unknown •Federal Coin Exchange 10/1955: 1163 $152.50.

AU-50 Virgil M. Brand • B. G. Johnson (St. Louis Stamp & Coin Co.), 6/28/1944 $60 • Thomas L. Elder, 7/8/1944 $70 • Leonard M. Holland • Pennypacker Auction Centre, 5/1959 $180 • Raymond Gallo, 5/18/1960 • C.Douglas Smith, 1971 • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Galleries 9/1986: 275 $1,430 • Douglas F. Bird • Michael Kramer • Gary Ruttenberg • M & G Auctions 8/1996: 183 $6,050 • W. M. 'Jack" Wadlington. State III.

AU-50 With a low area below the ribbon. Wayte Raymond, 1/1926 • George H. Clapp • ANS • Dr. William H. Sheldon • Charles M. Williams • Numismatic Gallery #68, 11/1950: 165 $110 • Harold Bareford, 9/13/ 1985 • Herman Halpern • Stack's 3/1988: 176 $2,640 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., • Early American Coppers 4/1989: 112 $3,250 • Stuart "Mac" MacDonald • ANS (Obtained from the MacDonald estate by Del Bland, acting as agent, and returned to the ANS on 6/19/1998). Reverse illustrated in Early American Cents and in Penny Whimsy. State VIII.

AU-50 Sharpness of MS-60 but some porosity. Col. James W. Ellsworth, 3/1923 • Wayte Raymond, 3/1923 • George H. Clapp • ANS.

Obverse 4.

Reverse H. The high fraction bar is long and thin. Berry right of (N)T is tiny and often weak, on worn examples apparently stemless. Base of E(S) is repunched, the left top of F is long, and AM are repunched.

Edge: Plain edge (PE).

Die states: I. Obverse ground down to remove clash marks from reverse G, failing below TY and right. Reverse clash marks from IBERTY at UN 100 (C)A. Cracked from the rim through final 0, ribbon end, and to the base of final A.

II. Cracked through the bases of RTY. Reverse clash marks of state I are polished off the die.

III. The obverse crack of state IT extends to the rim. The reverse crack of state I now extends through the base of C to the middle of I.

IV. Rim break right of y with clash marks from IC to the right of the break. The crack of state II is heavy at TY.

V. Huge retained cud covering TY and extending to the rim opposite the nose. This retained cud includes a full rim break right of Y, The reverse crack of state III is heavier. The only known example, in the John D. Wright collection, has weakness at the lowest curl and at TATE.

Equivalents: McGirk 3E. Ross 6:3-F. Clapp-Newcomb 6. Sheldon 195. EAC 8. Encyclopedia 1736.

High Rarity 5.

Remarks: Ross credited the discovery to George H. Clapp, apparently forgetting its earlier appearance in the McGirk serial. Whereabouts of the McGirk discovery coin is unknown. Ross described the variety from French:242 which may be the same piece. If Dr. French got it from McGirk, the riddle is solved.

Doughty 144 was described (following Proskey 6) as having the equivalents of our obverse 5 and our reverse G. Unwisely taking Doughty's description as correct. McGirk assigned it his number 3B, Ross called it 9:5-E. No such coin is reported. Various students have conjectured that Doughty intended the present variety but either misdescribed it or fell victim to typographical error.

Condition Census:

AU-50 With a low area on face and neck. Charles H. Deetz, 9/1926 • George H. Clapp • ANS. State I. Reverse illustrated in Clapp-Newcomb, in Early American Cents, and in Penny Whimsy. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Noyes.

VF-35 From England • a collector.

VF-30 George Ramont, 8/1976 • Del Bland, 8/1976 • Denis W. Loring, 5/1977 • Robinson S. Brown, Jr. • Superior Galleries 9/1986: 277 $1,760 • Dr. Bruce Reinoehl. State II.