1823 Matron Head Cent. Privately Issued Restrike. Judd-46, Pollock-6225. Rarity-7. Silver. Plain Edge. MS-63 (PCGS).，The slate gray, highly reflective surfaces of this restrike cent are enhanced by blue and silver highlights. It was struck from a heavily rusted and shattered obverse die; the reverse is also heavily rusted with die breaks there. A rare prize, this is one of just two silver 1823 restrike cents certified as MS-63 by PCGS, with none finer. (The other example is the D. Brent Pogue specimen that sold as lot 5156 in our February 2017 sale of Part V of that fabulous collection.) The <em>uspatterns.com</em> website notes the following:<p><em>"These are believed to have been struck originally by or for Joseph Mickley from dies sold by the Mint as scrap. The obverse is from Newcomb 2 dies and the reverse is from 1813 Sheldon 293 and were struck over several years, probably beginning in the early 1860s, as a copper example was in W.E. Woodwards November 1862 sale of the Finotti collection.</em><p><em>"About a dozen silver examples....were believed to have been struck by John Haseltine in the late 1870s. Both dies show extensive cracks and rust although the reverse die is not in the terminal die state known for the very last copper examples."</em><p>Per contra, Q. David Bowers suggests that there is not a shred of evidence linking the evidence of these to famous Philadelphia numismatist Mickley. They seem to have been issued by someone in or around Philadelphia, whose identity is unknown today. Such are the interesting mysteries of restrikes.<p>In any event, silver restrikes of the 1823 cent are eagerly sought by advanced large cent specialists as well as advanced pattern collectors.，PCGS# 12202. NGC ID: 228U.，PCGS Population: 2; 0 finer.，
