1797 Draped Bust Cent. S-123. Rarity-4. Reverse of 1797, With Stems. MS-64 BN (PCGS). OGH. The lustrous surfaces are painted in rich shades of caramel and milk chocolate. Overall hard and compact with subtle traces of natural planchet texture near the centers. A few ancient bookmarks appear under a glass on the obverse but have fully toned into the complexion. A horizontal cut beneath Libertys eye is actually as-made and is seen on all examples struck from this obverse die (S-122, S-123, 1797 NC-2, 1797 NC-3). The surfaces are otherwise smooth and without mentionable imperfections. A sphere of darker toning between STATES and OF serves as a convenient pedigree marker. Just 14 coins have been certified finer by PCGS in this category. Most Uncirculated 1797 large cents come from the legendary Nichols Find from the time of the Civil War. The Nichols Find cents are believed to have come from a bag of roughly 1,000 large cents bought from the Mint in December 1797 by Senator Benjamin Goodhue of Salem, Massachusetts, said to have been partial pay for his government services. Goodhue gave the coins to his daughters and they were passed down in the family who appear to have distributed the coins in the Salem area. By the late 1850s the coins attracted the attention of the nascent numismatic community and stories came to be told of David Nichols from Gallows Hill handing the pieces out for face value. The typical Nichols Find piece has a distinct patination typical of cents struck from the high quality planchets supplied by Matthew Boulton from Birmingham, England. Almost all Mint State S-123 coins can be traced back to this hoard, making this variety one of the more available Draped Bust cents in high grade. In the intervening centuries, these coins have been dispersed far and wide, making an appearance of a delightful choice Mint State example a notable event. From the Macon Collection.
