1796 1C S-114, BN MS(PCGS#35858)

Spring 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2127

Grade

VF30BN

Price

6,600

Lot Description

Breen Die State I. A superb specimen of this rare variety, boasting excellent color and surfaces for any variety of this challenging issue. Smooth light to medium brown with excellent eye appeal and no serious flaws. Some weakness of strike, as sometimes encountered, is noted near the base of the reverse, with some tiny marks there that no doubt pre-existed striking. Other marks are inobtrusive, like a tiny rim nick over the letter D in UNITED and an old and thin vertical scratch across Liberty's jawbone. Any date collector would be pleased to have an example of the 1796 Draped Bust cent that is as beautiful and nicely preserved as this one. Variety collectors will be even more pleased to learn this coin's rankings in the Condition Census lists: it is graded EAC VF25, net VF20, and tied for CC#5 in the Noyes census, while Bland assigns an EAC grade of VF20 and ranks it as tied for CC#5. With a well known and illustrious provenance, as well, this is a highly desirable Sheldon-114 cent.<p>Admiral Worthington S. Bitler was awarded a Silver Star for action in the Pacific during World War II, when he served as the commander of a cruiser, the USS <em>Salt Lake City</em>. He retired as a Rear Admiral and died in 1987. While assembling his cent collection in the 1940s, Bitler was also a well known collector of sea shells. His entire cent collection was sold to Abe Kosoff in 1960, with many choice pieces ending up in a 1973 A-Mark auction cataloged by Jack Collins.