1794 1C Double Chin, S-19b Head of 1793, BN MS(PCGS#35519)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Commissaire-priseur

Stack's Bowers

Numéro du lot

3006

Grade

AU55BN

Prix

84 000

Description du lot

Heck DS1. A celebrated rarity, perhaps the most famous and eagerly sought Sheldon-19b cent in today's market. Its first known auction appearance was in RARCOA's May 1971 sale of the Frank H. Masters, Jr. Collection of Large Cents, "the finest sale of large cents (combining quantity with quality) since 1961", as related by EAC member Dr. Dane Nielsen writing in 1971. The 1794 S-19b was offered as lot 46 and cataloged as:<p><em>This is the only variety of the Heads of 1793 that comes in higher grades. This specimen is a pleasing EXTREMELY FINE-40 with a light rust-orange and brown color. The strike around the edges is weak, especially on the reverse. A handsome addition to any date or type collection. Rarity 4.</em><p>A rather limited catalog description even for its day, although this is not the cataloger's worst offense, for the opening to the lot listing contained a significant blunder - a misattribution of the coin as "Sheldon 18b"! Amazingly, the misattribution was missed during the auction event, and despite the attendance and active bidding of leading members of the EAC community that included Dr. Dane Nielsen, Denis Loring, and Del Bland. Writing in the July 1971 issue of <em>Penny-Wise</em>, Dr. Nielsen recounted the tale of the coin's sale, as well as the subsequent disclosure of its correct S-19b attribution, in an article entitled "On to Central States!":<p><em>"Now, the Frank H. Masters Collection of United States Large Cents", cried the auctioneer. Tension was in the air, chairs were shuffled, deep breaths were taken, and everybody sat up a little straighter...</em><p><em>Now for the '94's. The EACers seemed to have all the top '94's locked up. First up - S-17a - reasonably to an EAC member at $105. Next, the "18b" - starts low, quickly to $500, then $600 (Del's out), $700, $800 (I'm out, stupid me), $900, $1,000, and still going. Even Denis' client drops out here. Finally sold to the young fellow in the center aisle. Who is he, we wondered? Oh well, must have been just a type collector needing a '94 Head of '93. I sure hoped so anyway - I didn't want to compete with him anymore...</em><p><em>Immediately after the sale there was much back-slapping and congratulating of the new owners. George Ramont invited everybody up to his room to show off his new additions. Before I could get away, I was approached by the young fellow whom I recognized as the new owner of the "18b." "Who are all of you guys?" he asked. He had noticed how we all seemed to know one another and how we bought most of the important coins. His name was Bob Schuman of Baltimore, Maryland. He then proceeded to drop about the biggest bomb of the auction. He revealed that the "18b" was in fact what may be the third finest known S-19b! Suffice it to say that there were some embarrassed faces among the '94 specialists that night. The reverses of 18b and 19b are very easy to distinguish, but none of us even bothered to think about what we were looking at. It was a fitting climax to an exciting day. Nice going, Bob!</em><p>Bob Schuman eventually sold the coin to Myles Z. Gerson, but after it passed through a few other hands, on May 28, 1994, he reacquired the coin from Dr. Allen Bennett and owned it for another 30 years. Returning to the open market again in August 2024, the coin was offered in Heritage's sale of the Schuman Collection, lot 4085. Now, a little more than a year later, EAC members and other advanced collectors will once again have the opportunity to bid on and secure this legendary rarity.<p>A gem at the assigned grade level, this is a beautiful 1794 cent irrespective of Sheldon number. The surfaces are hard and frosty with subtle semi-reflective tendencies evident when observed with the aid of direct lighting. The obverse is toned in a blend of light olive and golden-brown, while the reverse is dressed in deeper rose brown with pretty highlights of steel-blue. Both sides are fully glossy and expertly preserved, most of the wispy marks small in size, singularly inconspicuous, and/or native to the planchet prior to striking. The only useful identifier for provenance purposes is a crescent of deeper steel-brown toning along the lower right obverse border. The detail is bold to sharp through the centers, the peripheries with isolated softness, although all letters are at least partially discernible, and most are complete. The overall package is one of superior quality and abundant eye appeal - a combination that even the most discerning numismatist will find irresistible.<p>The Masters-Schuman specimen is tied for CC#1 in the 2000 Bland census with two other coins that are also graded EAC EF40 therein: the Wurtzbach-French coin that most recently sold at auction in Heritage's January 2025 sale of the Rusty Thompson Uncommon Cents Collection, as PCGS AU-53; and the Hays-Steigerwalt coin that is now in the ANS. The Masters-Schuman specimen is also tied for CC#1 in the Noyes census, with one other coin, again with an EAC grade of EF40. Certified AU-58 by PCGS, the Blackburn & Blackburn coin, later in the High Desert Collection, also deserves to be included in any discussion of the finest known 1794 S-19b cents.