1795 1C S-76b, BN MS(PCGS#35723)

Spring 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2107

Grade

AU58BN

Price

8,400

Lot Description

Breen Die State V. Exceptional quality and superior eye appeal for the type, this smooth and frosty Liberty Cap cent boasts handsome olive and tobacco-brown patina. Plenty of good gloss is evident, as well, and the surfaces show only minimal signs of handling with many of the tiny marks original to the planchet. Beveling to the obverse border helps to explain the overall softness to the denticulation on that side, but this is a well struck piece with all major design elements sharp.<p>The October 27 delivery of 37,000 cents exhausted the Mint's supply of copper. When coinage finally resumed in late December of 1795 - following the acquisition of 6,476 pounds of copper on December 26 from Joseph Anthony & Son - the weight standard had been reduced to 10.89 grams at the suggestion of Mint Director Elias Boudinot. This was a critical decision, made verbally by President George Washington (per Breen, 2000) because, unlike silver and gold coinage which was achieved solely at the request of bullion depositors, copper half cents and cents were struck on government account. The lower weight standard, combined with a reduction in copper prices, eventually allowed the Mint to realize a profit from production of these coins. The reduced weight necessitated the use of thinner planchets that could not accommodate lettering or ornate devices on the edge. Hence, and with few exceptions, all cents struck to the 10.89-gram standard have a plain edge.<p>Sheldon-76b vies with S-78 as the most available die marriage of the 1795 Plain Edge cent, and examples of both varieties abound in type sets. Few, however, are as sharply defined and nicely composed as the Widmer Family S-76b.