Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. buys money for the love of its beauty, and because he thinks coins are the best warehouse of value he can find. Eight million other collectors believe and emulate him. - David R. Maxey, Look magazine, October 29, 1964Cartwheel luster accentuates bright toning highlights of pale violet, sea green, and rose as it spins over the obverse, with some of the rosy highlights encompassing some proportion of original mint color. The reverse is frosty medium steel brown, showing good luster and some toning highlights that are far more subtle than those seen on the obverse even as they display similar shades. Several tiny contact marks are noted near Libertys temple and jawline, and marks of similar size and intensity gather near star 3. A thin scratch crosses star 9, and a circular discoloration is noted behind Libertys head. The reverse shows some minor hairlines around the denomination and a few trivial raised specks below the right ribbon end.Like most 1809 cents, this piece shows significant erosion and flowlines on the obverse, and the usually seen raised line from star 11 is prominent. Clash marks are visible on both sides, particularly behind Libertys head and near T of CENT. The two-forked crack through E of STATES and the lighter crack down to the top of E of ONE are both present, equivalent to Breens Die State VI.Louis Eliasberg assembled the only collection of United States coins that was complete by date and mint, a feat that was completed in 1950 and has not been seriously challenged since. His collection of early date large cents went beyond the simple confines of date collecting though, as he assembled 57 different early date (1793 to 1814) cents, in addition to an 1804 restrike. Four different Chain cents were included, representing three discrete die varieties. Two Wreath cents covered both the lettered edge and Vine and Bars edge types. Like so many collectors, he couldnt stop at just a single 1794 cent, but instead gathered nine of them, most in high grade. His 1799 cent was the famously well-pedigreed Abbey Cent, and his 1793 Liberty Cap was the remarkable Atwater example. This was his 1809 cent. Its earlier provenance is unknown, though it could be the high grade specimen that sold in the 1895 Richard W. Winsor sale, later appearing in the collections of Dr. Thomas Hall and Virgil Brand. Eliasberg was an active collector as the Brand hoard was being dispersed, and his high profile ensured that he was offered many of the choicest rarities that appeared in dealer stocks throughout the 1940s. By the mid 1950s, his was a nearly household name. An Eliasberg provenance continues to be of great desirability to collectors today.
