(c. 1820) Tkn 1C GW-110, Washington Double Head Engrailed Edge, BN MS(PCGS#909529)

Winter 2022 U.S. Coins Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2126

Grade

VF30BN

Price

1,140

Lot Description

Extremely Rare Double Head Cent Variant With Engrailed Edge Circa 1820 Washington Double Head Cent. Musante GW-110, Baker-6A, Breen-1205. Copper. Engrailed edge. VF-30 (PCGS). 27.6 mm. 126.1 grains. Glossy deep brown surfaces exhibit numerous old marks and fine scratches, though a couple of the larger reverse marks look to be natural planchet voids, partially smoothed by wear. An unusual variant that does not seem to have been discovered until an EF example was cataloged in our (Bowers and Ruddy's) New York Public Library sale in October 1982. In the 1999 revision of Baker, that was called "Unique" but Breen did not go that far, calling it "Extremely rare," likely anticipating that more would turn up in time since engrailed edges were used on the Military Bust cents that are similar in fabric, style and date of production as these, and as such would be an easy oversight to make. While the common double head with plain edge has often been mis-assigned the Breen-1205 number (due to the uncustomary layout of the photographs in that reference), this seems to be the only one in our archives with an engrailed edge. It remains very rare, indeed, and is the sort of thing that appeals to detail-oriented, specialized collectors like Syd Martin. Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the Peter Scherff Collection; our (Stack’s) sale of the Eliasberg and Krause Collections, March 2010, lot 2587. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.