Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Obverse 1. Blunt 1. Repunched 5, first entered right of the final position, then partly effaced and corrected. RT are minutely high.

Reverse A. Small fraction and letters. Fraction bar is skewed to the right, beginning beyond 1(00). Right feet of TS broken off. Point of the high leaf is barely right of left edge of (E)S; on reverse B it is well to the right of s.

Die states: I. Perfect dies.

II. Dash marks from leaves near the ribbon and throat, at first faint. Reverse clash marks in the wreath are faint at first, later heavy.

III. Faint crack through the tops of AM, later heavier and extending through the tops of ME. Clash marks become blurred.

IV. Reground to remove clash marks with border dentils blurred. Reverse cracked from bases of ST to nearest leaf, later extending through ES to the rim. Faint crack through tops of TA.

Equivalents: Proskey 1. Doughty 199. McGirk 1A. Clapp 1. Sheldon 267. EAC 1. Encyclopedia 1765.

Rarity 1.

Remarks: Letter and numeral punches on both dies, including the blunt 1 of the date and the short top serif of D, are those of 1803. The obverse die was evidently made in 1803 minus its final digit, but not completed and hardened until 1805.

Warning: Dangerous forgeries exist. Seemingly AU, these have a large hollow area at the temple, of approximately diamond shape with rounded corners, looking as though either foreign matter had adhered to the die at striking, or a lamination planchet defect (on the original from which the dies were made) had flaked off afterwards; surfaces are unlike the genuine of the same grade level, but this is only apparent on comparison. Edges are beveled, unlike the genuine. Jack Beymer discovered the forgeries in 1985, though the first ones may have been made a few years earlier. Del Bland has traced the prototype coin copied by the forger. The workmanship of the forgeries is similar to that found on recent counterfeit 1851/81 cents.

Condition Census:

MS-63 Dr. Henry W. Beckwith. S. H. Chapman 4/1923: 34 $30 • S. H. Chapman • Wm. Festus Morgan • J. C. Morgenthau & Co. #287, 6/1932: 76 $13.50 • B. Max Mehl Collection • Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. • Bowers and Merena 5/1996: 526 $23,100 • Anthony Terranova • Dr. Eugene Sherman • Superior Stamp & Coin 9/1997: 70 $27,500.

MS-61 Robert Coulton Davis • New York Coin & Stamp Co. 1/1890: 2548 $40 • Benjamin H. Collins, 1937 • B. Max Mehl Collection • George H. Clapp, 1945 • Dr. William H. Sheldon, 4/19/1972 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/ 23/1992 • Eric Streiner • Jay Parrino (The Mint) • unknown • Superior Stamp & Coin 9/1997: 69 $23,100. Obverse and reverse illustrated in Penny Whimsy and in Noyes.

MS-61 Mayflower Coin Co., 1957 • Gene Reale • Sotheby's (New York) #7083, 1/1998: 41 $14,300 • Denis W. Loring.

MS-61 Peter Mougey • William H. Woodin • Thomas L. Elder #43, 9/1910: 63 $35 • S. H. Chapman • Howard R. Newcomb • J. C. Morgenthau & Co. #458, 2/1945: 459 $52.50 • James Kelly • Rudolph Khol • Federal Coin Exchange FPL, 1952 $125 • 1954 ANA (Federal Coin Exchange): 1027 $115 • Thomas J. Wass III, 5/5/ 1958 • C. Douglas Smith • Louis Helfenstein, privately • C. Douglas Smith • Dr. Robert J. Shalowitz • Jerry A. Bobbe • C. Douglas Smith. State II.

MS-61 Stack's FPLs, 1976-1977 $1,700.

MS-60 David Proskey • Henry C. Hines • Lillian Scheer, 1948 • Homer K. Downing • 1952 ANA (New Netherlands Coin Co. #38): 1967447.50 • A. Kosoff • R. E. Naftzger, Jr.• A. Kosoff 4/1956: 108 $155 • Harold Bareford, 9/13/1985 • Herman Halpern. Stack's 3/1988: 253 $4,675 • Rare Coin Company of America, 7/21/1988 • Andrew M. Hain.

MS-60 Henry C. Miller • Thomas L. Elder 4/1917: 801 $51 • "FR" • Col. E. H. R. Green • B. G. Johnson (St. Louis Stamp & Coin Co.) • Barney Bluestone • Judge Thomas L. Gaskill • New Netherlands Coin Co., privately 11/1956 • Dorothy Paschal. New Netherlands Coin Co. #50, 12/1957: 1254 $235 • Elliot Landau • New Netherlands Coin Co. #52, 12/1958: 122 $350 • Floyd T. Starr • Stack's 6/1984: 43 $2,750 • Herman Halpern, 12/11/1986 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23/1992 • Eric Streiner.

MS-60 M. A. Brown • S. H. & H. Chapman 4/1897: 806 $33 • S. H. & H. Chapman • Allison W. Jackman • Henry Chapman 6/1918: 721 $35.50 • Wayte Raymond • Charles J. Dupont •Stack's 9/1954: 486 $70. Dorothy Nelson • Stack's 2/1976: 75 $725 • Larry Whitlow (Ford City Coins & Stamps, Ltd.) • New England Rare Coin Auctions 11/1978: 51 $750 • Wayne Rattray (W & B Coin).

MS-60 Dr. James O. Sloss, 9/1958 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr. • A. Kosoff 10/1959: 96 $300 • R. E. Naftzger, Jr .• New Netherlands Coin Co. 11/1973: 584 $900 • Julian Leidman • Kenneth M. Goldman. C. Douglas Smith • Jack H. Beymer • 1982 ANA (Steve Ivy Numismatic Auctions): 1516 $1,650 • Jack H. Beymer.

MS-60 Chris Victor-McCawley (CVM) • M & G Auctions 1/1995: 402 $5,940 • Thomas D. Reynolds.