A keeper! If you have doubts, bid!! Can you wait another 34 years? - Bill Noyes, 1989Among the top half dozen specimens of this variety, four are in private hands. The Cleneay-Clapp coin in the American Numismatic Society and the Mint Cabinet coin in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution are out of reach; of the four remaining outside of institutions, two are in the D. Brent Pogue Collection. For much of the 1980s, both coins resided in the Ted Naftzger Collection. This example was sold as a duplicate in 1989. He kept the coin in the previous lot as his primary specimen until the epochal sale of his mainline collection of early date cents in 1992.This example shows ideal deep chocolate brown color and smooth fields. The quality of its natural surface is accentuated by a thin layer of applied gloss, which reveals some rainbow-tinted highlights under a proper light and magnification, more present on the obverse than the reverse. A line-like demarcation in the gloss, with an appearance not unlike a die crack, crosses Libertys nose and stretches into the upper right obverse field. The warm glow of luster is visible on the surfaces, with particularly strong cartwheel visible on the reverse, and few marks of any consequence are noted. The scattered marks in the left obverse field remain on the planchet from before striking, similar in texture to the marks seen elsewhere around the periphery of this coin and on most high grade specimens of this variety. A light scuff is noted above the 9 of the date, and some trivial pits are seen between the cap and denticles in the upper left obverse. A few low patches of ruddy patina are hidden near the base of the wreath, near the ribbon knot and the bases of ICA.A firm strike has given the portrait of Liberty fine detail and elegant relief, with just trifling softness on the high curl behind her ear. The short die crack from the obverse denticles near 8:00 remains as it does in earlier die states, but the reverse shows more significant clashing and lapping in this state, equivalent to Breens Die State IV. The bulge below the Liberty cap is subtle, but the clashing inside the wreaths left side and at the upper right of the wreath is bold. Lapping has removed the center fold and most of the tip from the right ribbon end. Both sides are ideally centered, bringing good detail to the full ration of denticles around both sides.One of the most important high grade Head of 1793 cents extant, this coin was identified by Dr. Sheldon in Penny Whimsy as one of "the famous ones" among this variety. At the time Sheldon wrote, this coin had just changed hands, acquired by Ted Naftzger along with the rest of the T. James Clarke large cent collection. In 1956, Abe Kosoff sold duplicates from the Naftzger Collection under the T. James Clarke name, including a mixture of Clarke coins and Naftzger duplicates. No Sheldon-18b was included in the sale, in fact, the already magnificent Naftzger Collection lacked a decent example of this variety before this coin was added, and perhaps lacked any example at all. He hung onto this until 1988, when it was consigned to the 1989 Early American Coppers club sale, where Bill Noyes suggested that another opportunity to buy it at auction would perhaps not be in the offing for decades. He was not far off: it didnt go up for bids again for nearly 20 years.
