1802 1C S-241, No Stems, BN MS(PCGS#36347)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3010

Grade

AU58+BN

Price

12,000

Lot Description

Breen Die State III. Outstanding quality and eye appeal for this popular blundered reverse variety, one that has its own distinct listing in the popular <em>Guide Book</em>. We first became acquainted with this lovely and significant Sheldon-241 cent through our (Bowers and Merena's) May 1996 sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, in which it was offered as lot 518 and cataloged as:<p><em><strong>Strike:</strong> Well centered with full obverse and reverse border denticulation. Most leaves are detailed.</em><p><em><strong>Surfaces:</strong> Mottled medium and dark brown with traces of golden lustre, faded from mint red. A few insignificant surface marks and scratches are present. Overall very attractive.</em><p><em><strong>Narrative:</strong> This is most likely among the top dozen survivors of this otherwise common variety.</em><p>Expanding on the physical description, we now add that the few insignificant marks are concentrated on the obverse, on and before Liberty's cheek, and in the left field below the ribbon ends. An old, light spot in the upper left obverse field is also noted, and there is a trace of rub engaging the high points of Liberty's portrait. The reverse is virtually flawless, also virtually as made, and on its own would support a Mint State rating. Clearly the highly desirable AU-58+ grade from PCGS is fully justified here.<p>The Eliasberg cataloger's opinion that this is "likely among the top dozen survivors" can now also be confirmed and the coin given a more exact ranking in the leading large cent census listings. The Bland census, published in 2000 in <em>Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents: 1793-1814</em>, assigns an EAC grade of AU50 and ranks this coin as tied for CC#6, while the Noyes census grades it EAC AU55 net AU50 and tied for CC#3. It remains the finest S-241 cent that we can ever recall bringing to auction. A highly regarded condition rarity, a beautiful example, and a coin that will sell for a strong premium to an advanced <em>Guide Book</em> variety collector or early copper specialist.<p>The reverse of Sheldon-241 is one of several in the Draped Bust cent series missing one or both stems to the wreath. This feature is attributable to human error. The stems of the wreath were not part of a device punch and, as such, had to be cut into each working die by hand. In the case of this and other Stemless Wreath reverse dies in the Draped Bust cent series, the engraver simply forgot to add the stems. The reverse of S-241 is also identifiable by a widely doubled fraction bar, the second, less pronounced bar low and into the top of the digit 1 in the denominator.<p>The offered coin represents Breen Die State III, a middle die state of the S-241 attribution. Clash marks are present along the right obverse border before Liberty's profile, and the reverse die is lightly cracked through the letters in OF and to the border just before the first letter A in AMERICA. All of these features are as made.