The leader and teacher of us all - in the field of the old copper cents - is Wurtzbach. - George H. Clapp, as recounted by Dr. William H. Sheldon in Penny-Wise,March 1971A supremely lustrous beauty, toned in exemplary shades of deep olive and steel brown, this cent radiates cartwheel. Its fields are immaculate, showing just a few harmless specks in the upper left obverse field, devoid of significant marks or evidence of handling. A very subtle line crosses low on Libertys jawline and a thin hairline extends from the tip of the leaf left of the first A in AMERICA, perhaps the only microscopic flaws keeping this gem from a still higher numerical grade. The planchet was incomplete, though its modest clip was nearly entirely obscured by a solid strike; it is only faintly visible under 05 of the date and above the space between STATES and OF.The die state is late, after several severe clashings left their mark in front of Libertys profile and throat and above and below her hair bow. The reverse has apparently been well lapped, as just trivial clashing vestiges remain visible around the leaf cluster left of the gap under E of ONE and above T of CENT. Concentric arcs of lathe lines are subtly visible in Libertys hair and across her shoulder, mostly lapped away and not as prominent as on some other varieties of this type. Light cracks or lapping lines link the bases of 18 in the date and 80 at their midpoints. The bulge below the lowest curl places this roughly equivalent to Breens State IV.Dr. Sheldon is said to have acquired this coin from Barney Bluestone in 1948. Bluestones 100th sale, in February of that year, included several runs of above average large cents. John W. Adams, whose skill in bird-dogging large cent provenances exceeds most, noted in his United States Numismatic Literature, Volume II that the sale included "Large cents, ex Hines (and therefore ex Sheldon?): some nice varieties." Pete Smith expanded upon this in Names With Notes, stating more authoritatively that "Bluestone 100th sale, February 28, 1948, featured Wurtzbach coins, 365 Laces." The only example of this variety sold in that sale was lot 760: "1805 Pointed 1, Light attractive brown, Pract. Unc. Very rare in this condition. The Newcomb specimen sold for $70.00 and only excelled this one by a slight shade." That coin is included in the Bland/Breen census as an AU-50, traced to the Judge Sawicki, Dorothy Paschal, and Jack Beymer collections. It appears safe to rule out that this piece was acquired from Bluestone in 1948; however, Bob Vails comments in the November 1993 Penny-Wise should be considered. Vail, a dogged provenance researcher, opined that this sale "featured Wurtzbach coins - these, no doubt, the remnants after Sheldon and perhaps others had purchased what they wanted." If Dr. Sheldon had been the consignor of the coins in Bluestones 100th, as Adams believed, and had kept upgrades while selling duplicates, as Vail believed, this coin was clearly the upgrade while the piece sold through Bluestone was the duplicate.This is the sole Mint State specimen listed in the Breen/Bland census and ranks first on both the Bland and Noyes census listings. It is likewise the single finest specimen of the date ever graded by PCGS. With its deep pools of luster and distinctive aesthetic appeal, Dr. Sheldon mused that this was "just possibly the best cent in the [Wurtzbach] collection," reporting on his envelope that its former owner "said he used to put himself to sleep with it."
