The most awesome large cent Ive ever seen. - Denis Loring, Penny-Wise, January 1981Spectacular full mint color remains, barely faded to dusky salmon orange. Highlights of silvery olive are seen on some peripheral design elements, likely imbued by some harmless detritus that once adhered before this cent came out of the woodwork. While that quaint numismatic idiom has been used for generations to indicate a coin that was found in an obscure setting outside of a mainstream collection, the beginning of this cents impressive provenance allows for a literal use of the phrase: in 1915, this cent was found inside of an old desk, where it had likely lurked since practically its date of issue. Neither the benign neglect this cent endured for the first century of its existence nor handling by collectors in its second reduced its splendor. Unlike most coins with full or nearly full mint color, it shows no significant spotting, and its color has remained stable for a century. A few minor specks above O of ONE and below CE of CENT do not affect the impressive aesthetic appeal. Aside from a short mark left of the base of the first 1 in the date, there are no contact marks that catch even a studious eye. The centering is good, though axial or planar misalignment of the die faces has left softness on the left periphery of both sides, affecting stars 1 through 7 on the obverse and the tops of UNITED ST on the reverse. The die state is early and crisp, with no clash marks or bulges. A graver line that descends into the left obverse field from star 5 is present, typical of the variety.Dr. Henry W. Beckwith, who Breen famously called "the first perfectionist," had a soft spot for cents with abundant mint color and unusual stories of discovery. He acquired an 1801 S-223 and an 1807 S-271, both ex Bement, that had been found together in a trunk in Rhode Island, as well as the 1807 S-273 that had been passed down among the descendants of Col. Joshua Pierce since the year it was struck, Pierces birth year. His 1794 Sheldon-29 was discovered among the property of an old Philadelphia family in 1914.There are many stories of individual high grade cents that had been lost, and then found. One of the finest known 1801 S-216 cents was found inside an old desk at the Essex Institute in the 1930s, and still-red 1821 cents were found within a Boston cornerstone about 1979. The nine 1809 cents found inside another cornerstone, that of the Mansion House Hotel in Philadelphia, are less well known, but Montroville W. Dickeson reported in 1859 that "the most perfect specimens known" come from there. In more recent years, two high grade cents dated 1793 and 1794 were discovered in the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House in Boston, examined, publicized, and then put back. Unfortunately, neither had survived the ravages of time and humanity well.There are remarkably few survivors of this date with significant remaining mint color. The Helfenstein-Holmes example of this die marriage, graded PCGS MS-66 RB, is the only 1811 graded higher than this one, but its proportion of mint red pales in comparison. That coin is one of just four RB entries for this date on the PCGS Population Report. This piece is not only the sole 1811 certified as RD by PCGS, it is the only cent of the entire design type with the designation. For fans of original color, there is no more important 1811 cent.
