1842 12 Stars Large Cent. Rarity-9 (Unique). Very Fine. 9.04 grams, 29.5mm.，A newly discovered and totally unique addition to the canon of struck contemporary counterfeit large cents, joining the 1818 "14Stars" or "Continuous Wreath" and 1848 "Small Date" large cents, which have been known and collected as far back as the late mid nineteenth century. Lesser known is the 1846 struck contemporary counterfeit, which at quick glance looks very much like a normal large cent of the year. Both obverse and reverse dies of this 1842 show very crude die work, as they appear to be engraved freehand. Miss Liberty is a caricature of the much more finely styled work of Christian Gobrecht that appears on US Mint large cents of the era. Her face is a mere outline, her lips appearing severely puckered; LIBERTY is outsized on the hair ribbon as compared to the amorphous, undulating forms that represent her hair, and the lower tresses of hair and truncation of the bust have morphed into what appears to be some messy drapery. The 1842 date is clear, though the lower part of the 2 is a bit weak, and only 12 of the requisite 13 stars are represented, seemingly formed from an almost circular, 5 lobed punch that varies a bit from star to star. We have chosen to name this the "12 Stars" large cent, following the naming tradition of the 1818 "14 Stars" large cent, which has one too many rather than one too few stars! On the reverse, the leaves in the wreath show the similarly very crude engraving of the obverse motif, while the legends are quite fragmentary, with only the D of UNITED and ..M…RIC of AMERICA visible, while ONE CENT is mostly present. The die surfaces on both sides are quite wavy and sunken in places, especially at the reverse periphery, where die failure and mounding/advanced wear has decimated the legends; a die crack connects the rim to the 12th star to the bust on the obverse. Clearly the die metal was of poor-quality, resulting in premature and advanced die failure. A somewhat uneven solid border is engraved in place of denticles, though the dies edge seems to be beyond this engraved border. The coin itself is quite pleasant, its dark brown, subtly granular surfaces are worn to a pleasing light tan at the highpoints, with no marks or post-production troubles to note. Large cents and their variants have been actively and enthusiastically collected since the mid nineteenth century, and only 3 examples of the 1818 "14 Stars" large cent and about a dozen of the 1848"Small Date" have come to lightly in over 150 years of numismatic searching. Though impossible to say for sure, it seems plausible that the 1842 "12 Stars "will remain unique or at least extremely rare into the near future. The 1818 has sold for over $10,000, while the 1848 brings solid mid four figure realizations. We are anxious to see what price record this fascinating coin sets on auction day!，，
