“Very sharp, olive and red gem.” — Alan Weinberg, 1984 A cameo-like jewel, this half cent exhibits the sort of centering and pristine clarity more expected from an ink sketch than a three-dimensional 18th century object made from soft metal. Cartwheel luster rolls from border to border within a thick frame of denticles, whose long stout bodies extend deep into the fields and nearly reach the tip of Liberty’s pole. The surfaces are extremely frosty, chocolate brown and steel, showing no apparent mint red except for the peek that extends from the highest wave of Liberty’s hair. The apparent evenness of brown color does not indicate a dullness, however, as magnification and light find a lively crystalline surface, showing fascinating variations of tone, much of it barely mellowed from mint color and all of it beautiful to the connoisseur’s eye. The fields are immaculate, free of any contact mark or notable natural flaw. A tiny planchet depression is seen to the upper left of L in LIBERTY on the obverse, but not a single nick can be found. A few ancient and insignificant specks of old encrustation are seen, including a tiny circle near the denticles left of L in LIBERTY, another hidden above the hair band among Liberty’s tresses, and a more subtle one at central reverse between EN of CENT. The visual appeal, if possible, surpasses that of the assigned grade, offering a truly insurmountable obstacle to anyone so bold as to presume the possibility of a finer example. The die state is typical, equal to Breen’s state IV, with a noticeable crack from the denticles above I of UNITED to the denticles below 2 of the denominator. The crack is a bit ill-defined above N of UNITED. In later states, the crack becomes slightly bolder. While Breen suggested that there were very late die state Cohen-1 half cents struck after the final Cohen-2 half cents, the evidence makes such a remarriage seem unlikely. Manley identified just a single major die state of this die marriage. The ideal centering on this specimen showcases each of the uniquely long denticles to their fullest extent, but also allows the space beyond their outer extremities to be seen particularly well. The placement of the border, with a slight gap between each denticle and the die edge, gives the denticles on this obverse die the appearance of covering more surface area than any other obverse of the type. The visual impact is distinctive among the Liberty Cap half cent series, making a high grade 1797 Cohen-2 an especially impressive type coin. The Cleneay-Mills-Bareford 1797 C-2 is unanimously accorded finest known honors by those who have endeavored to assembled a Condition Census of the early half cent varieties. Roger Cohen graded it MS-65 in his 1984 “Top Ten” column in Penny-Wise and ranked it as finest known ahead of the Garrett coin. The Breen/Hanson census likewise ranks this specimen first and the Garrett specimen second. The example in Jim McGuigan’s collection is graded MS-63 BN (PCGS), formerly the Tettenhorst/Missouri Cabinet duplicate, ex Col. Green. Alan Weinberg, whose studious eye and taste for fine copper are well known, shared his opinion on this piece and others from the Harold S. Bareford Collection in the March 1984 issue of Penny-Wise. Describing the Bareford half cents and large cents as “a most impressive assemblage,” Weinberg published notes taken when he had the opportunity to study the collection at a leisurely pace in 1964. This coin was described as “MS-65, very sharp, olive and red gem.” The cataloger of the Missouri Cabinet shared his enthusiasm, judging this coin “one of the most beautiful half cents we have ever seen.” The Chapman brothers, whose description in the 1890 Cleneay catalog is the earliest documented reference to this coin, called it a “superb, even impression of beautiful color, with traces of original red” and “the finest half cent we know of this year.” The only finer half cent of this year seen by PCGS appears in the previous lot. PCGS# 35104.
