1793 Flowing Hair Cent. Wreath Reverse. S-8, B-13. Rarity-3. Vine and Bars Edge. MS-64+ BN (NGC). One of the most exciting and significant offerings in this sale, this is a fresh 1793 Sheldon-8 Wreath cent that has been off the market for decades. It recently emerged as part of an early type set of United States Mint coinage, having been acquired from Abner Kreisberg decades ago. Newly certified by NGC ahead of our auction offering, this is a lovely, premium Choice Uncirculated example of this classic one-year type from the first year of large cent production.
Beautifully toned in warm, even copper-rose patina, both sides also exhibit antique gold (obverse) and powder blue (reverse) undertones. The strike is exceptional for a coin whose design was executed in high relief, especially one attributed to the fledgling United States Mint. The reverse is fully detailed throughout, while the obverse features virtually complete definition with just a trace of the usual softness at the highest points of Libertys hair along the brow, around the ear, and behind the neck. Both sides are ideally centered within complete beaded borders. The planchet is choice, hard and tight, with no fissures, pits, or other detracting flaws. No sizable or otherwise significant marks are noted; the in hand appearance is impressively smooth and all that one would expect at the threshold of full Gem Mint State preservation. Provenance concerns alone compel us to mention a tiny obverse edge nick at 8:30 and an equally minuscule graze at lower right on the same side that involves the tip of Libertys bust and the field area immediately above. A softly glowing frosty texture adds to the appeal of this premium quality Wreath cent. Breen Die State III.
The mintage for the 1793 Wreath cent as an issue is widely accepted to be 63,353 coins, which correspond to the Mints nine deliveries for this denomination from April 9 to July 17, 1793:
-April 9: 12,000 coins
-April 13: 6,112 coins
-April 16: 8,000 coins
-April 17: 7,000 coins
-April 18: 6,000 coins
-April 19: 4,240 coins
-April 28: 8,000 coins
-July 6: 11,825 coins
-July 17: 176 coins
Production from the Sheldon-8 die marriage is believed to be included in the deliveries of April 19 and April 28. The obverse is the Horizontal Stem variety with the sprig nearly paralleling the top of the date from the middle of the digit 7 to the right side of the 3. High grade examples, as here, reveal minute die chips on Libertys cheek and temple. On the reverse, the bow binding the base of the wreath is heavy, high and triangular in shape, and the uppermost trefoil in the left wreath branch is under the first letter T in STATES. Sheldon-8 is one of several die marriages that correspond to the Vine and Bars Edge <em>Guide Book</em> variety of the 1793 Wreath cent. The others are S-5, S-6, S-7, S-9, S-10, S-11A, NC-4 and NC-5.
We have always loved 1793 cents of the four major types - Chain AMERI., Chain AMERICA, Wreath (as here), and Liberty Cap. Of the four, indeed unique within the entire large copper cent series, the 1793 Wreath is in wonderfully dramatic high relief, with Libertys portrait almost sculptured in its appearance. Although no documentation survives, likely it required special attention and effort to strike these up properly on a hand press. We can imagine a high rejection rate. The obvious solution was to lower the relief of the designs, which indeed was done when the Liberty Cap design type was introduced later in the year.
In any numismatic season a 1793 Wreath cent is an object of desire. Even if worn nearly smooth, such a coin commands interest and attention. When numismatics became very popular in 1857 and 1858 (following the passing of the large copper cent and the introduction of the small Flying Eagle cent), there was a nationwide passion to collect the pieces of an earlier era - the large copper cents generating fond memories of childhood. Dr. Montroville W. Dickeson in the first large-format American book on the hobby <em>The American Numismatical Manual</em>, 1859, mentioned that well worn 1793 cents could still be found in circulation! This did not last for long, and quickly all disappeared. There were no magazines on American numismatics, so public interest and questions were addressed by features in magazines and newspapers of general interest, including <em>Historical Magazine</em>, launched in 1857, and in newspaper submissions in New York City by Augustus B. Sage and in Boston by Jeremiah Colburn. Along the way some nicknames for cents that endured such as "Booby Head" and "Silly Head" for varieties of 1839 were attached.
In 1858 George Cogan, an English immigrant who conducted an art shop in Philadelphia, had a mail bid sale of large copper cents. The leaflet was distributed to those interested, bids came pouring in, and Cogan was startled at the enthusiastic response as well as the prices generated. This prompted him to thinking. Within a couple of years Cogan left the business of prints, painting frames, and the like behind and went into numismatics primarily. Later, he moved to New York City, the center of attention in the marketplace.
As years went on, large copper cents continued to be the focus of interest for many collectors and the first photographic plate to appear in <em>The American Journal of Numismatics</em> (launched in 1856), was published in 1869 and featured cents of the 1793 date. As the years went on, these pieces continued to be the focus of specialists whose names are remembered today. Into the 20th century the momentum continued. Most numismatists collected 1793 cents by the types listed in <em>A Guide Book of United States Coins</em>, one each of the four designs. A notable exception was Dr. Charles Ruby, a university professor in Southern California, who felt that if four 1793 cents were desirable, 10 were better yet, and dozens even more desirable!
The coin market evolves, and today with certification led by PCGS and NGC, high-grade coins have become a greater focus of attention than ever before. The beautiful Wreath cent offered here, at the cusp of full Gem Mint State quality, would make a wonderful addition to a world class type set or specialized early copper cabinet. Making its first public appearance in the modern numismatic market, we anticipate keen bidder interest that will result in a strong realized price. Surely, only the most aggressive bidding strategy will prevail. PCGS# 1347. NGC ID: 223H. NGC Census (all die marriages of the issue): 1; 3 finer (all MS-66 BN). Ex Abner Kreisberg, from whom it was acquired decades ago for placement into a type set of early United States Mint coinage.
*拍品信息由各家拍卖公司提供，首席数据中心刊载出于传递更多信息之目的，并不意味着赞同其观点或证实其描述。
