1794 Liberty Cap Cent. S-71. Rarity-2. Head of 1795. AU-55 (PCGS).Beautiful olive-brown surfaces with intermingled light brown highlights. Both sides are sharply struck and nicely centered on a thick planchet, its quality outstanding with no laminations or other flaws in evidence. The surfaces are hard and satiny with no readily identifiable blemishes apart from a tiny dig at the obverse border below the digit 4 in the date. Closer inspection also reveals a minor edge bruise above the liberty cap, another outside the letter IT in UNITED on the reverse and light, ancient verdigris in the protected areas around some of the design elements on the latter side. Breen Die State IV.Examples from the S-71 die marriage were delivered December 18 to 24, 1794. The device punch for Libertys portrait on this variety is credited to John Smith Gardner, who probably used a specimen of the S-45 variety as a prototype for his low relief copy of Scots Second Head. The Mint hired Gardner in November 1794 as acting assistant engraver. He is responsible for the head punches for 1795-1797 half cents, 1794 cents of the S-67 to S-72 and NC.3 varieties, all 1795 cents, and the Small Head half dollars of 1795. Additionally, he created the punches for the wreath used on the reverse of all of these issues/varieties. Gardners First Head for the 1794 cent, which is often incorrectly grouped with the S-72 Head of 1795, is featured on Sheldon numbers 67 through 71, as well as NC.3. These varieties were delivered from December 16 through 24, 1794, their total combined mintage 80,000 pieces. The present example is an uncommonly well produced and preserved example of both the type and variety, and it is sure to have no difficulty finding its way into an advanced early copper collection.