1839 Braided Hair Cent. N-8. Rarity-1. Head of 1840. MS-65 RB (PCGS). CAC.An impressive example, and among the finest known for the die pair. Both sides exhibit a smooth, glossy texture with light brown iridescence dominating the in hand appearance. Considerable luster remains, however, the obverse with pretty light orange color peering through the toning and the reverse exhibiting more subtle pinkish-rose undertones. Aside from the often seen softness of detail here and there at the borders -- which is very minor, in point of fact -- the strike is well executed. Libertys portrait on the obverse and the reverse wreath are particularly noteworthy for the crispness of delineation that they possess. As struck flaws are not seen, and post production blemishes are few in number and can be difficult to discern. For provenance purposes, we offer a small carbon fleck at the obverse rim between stars 2 and 3, another near the denticles between stars 5 and 6, and a trio of faint spots at the reverse border outside the letter T in STATES. A beautiful coin that would serve with distinction in the finest collection of middle date large cents. Noyes Die State A/A.<p>Our research indicates that this coin was sold as lot 188 in Lester Merkins 1964 sale of the renowned Louis Helfenstein Collection of Large Cents. The provenance, in turn, confirms this coin as being tied for Condition Census #3 for the die marriage according to the list compiled by William C. Noyes in the 1991 book <em>United States Large Cents: 1816-1839</em>.Ex Walter Breen; Lester Merkins sale of the Louis Helfenstein Collection of Large Cents, August 1964, lot 188; our June 2010 Baltimore Auction, lot 152; our sale of the Collection of Thaddeus A. Tatum III, August 2018 ANA Sale, lot 1057.
