1839/6 Modified Matron Head Cent. N-1. Rarity-3. Plain Cords. AU-53 (PCGS).；Dark chocolate brown covers most of the surface area with subtle olive and cordovan brown undertones that are more prominent on the higher points of the relief and around the tops of the rims. Faint bluish-steel accents are seen in the fields in certain light. The coin is smooth and glossy throughout, though close study will reveal small areas of microscopic roughness in the leaves beneath OF, around the wreath stem and against the wreath below I of UNITED. It is likely that the coin was nicely recolored and these small rough spots may have had something to do with it. Still, the coin is attractive and remains an appealing example of this popular overdate variety.<p>Noyes Die State A/A, the early state of the obverse, which forms a prominent crack, left of the face that eventually grows to bisect the obverse. The offered example is very early and does not have any evidence of this break. It even retains slight prooflike character in the fields. The reverse is only observed in one state. The defect above the E of ONE is strong, as is the straight line defect in the leaves below the second T of STATES.<br /><p>This cent was cataloged as ninth finest in the Noyes Census at the time of the Dan Holmes sale in May 2010. The Noyes Census has been re-evaluated since then, apparently from the photo files therein, and this coin now ranks as 14th. However, we grade it higher than he does (EAC EF-45), as did the writer in the 2010 Holmes sale where it brought $16,675. While this was a little under the $25,000 catalog estimate in 2010, times have seemingly changed for this variety. Twin Leaf Part I included another example of this variety that was formerly in Dan Holmes collection. It was graded AU-55 by PCGS and offered as lot 539 in the May 2010 sale where it brought $20,125. In our July 2015 sale it outperformed expectations healthily and sold for more than $64,000.<p>The present coin is an important example with a fine provenance back to Dr. James Sloss, who was known for his particularly fine cabinet of cents.
