1800/79 1C S-196, BN MS(PCGS#36167)

February 2025 Showcase Auction - U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

1006

Grade

AU55BN

Price

6,600

Lot Description

The obverse die of this variety was prepared in late 1798 and initially intended, but not used, for production of 1798- or 1799-dated cents. The final digit in the date was either omitted or later effaced, allowing Mint employees to repurpose this die for 1800-dated coinage. The offered specimen from the Sheldon-194 die pairing qualifies as Condition Census based on the 2000 Bland census, which includes coins in EAC grades of VF-30 through AU-55. Handsome medium brown surfaces are hard and frosty with only a few small, widely scattered marks that hardly detract. The strike is well centered, although denticulation is thin, and the design elements are boldly to sharply defined. Direct lighting calls forth subtle cobalt blue undertones that deliver further eye appeal. Breen Die State II.