1796 1C Liberty Cap, BN MS(PCGS#1392)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2019

Grade

XF40BN

Price

6,600

Lot Description

A generally chestnut brown example with intermingled olive color and, on the obverse, several swirls of deeper charcoal and rose. Trivially granular on the obverse, especially along the lower right border, yet free of sizeable or otherwise singularly mentionable marks. The strike is well balanced, remaining detail bold to sharp apart from minor softness at upper left reverse, engaging the letters ST in STATES.<p>The 1796 Liberty Cap is a scarce transitional issue in the early large cent series, the mintage "confidently identifiable with the 109,825 coined in April and May 1796 and delivered between April 10 and about May 10," as related in the 2000 Breen large cent encyclopedia. The Sheldon-91 variety represents the only use of both the obverse and reverse dies, and has an extant population of 350 or so coins in all grades from an estimated mintage of 15,000 pieces. There is plenty of sharp detail and sufficient eye appeal to confirm the present example as a desirable candidate for inclusion in another advanced collection.