1793 Flowing Hair Cent. Chain Reverse. S-1. Rarity-4. AMERI. AU-53 (PCGS).<strong>Type:</strong> Flowing Hair, Chain Reverse.<p><strong>Design:</strong> Obv: A head of Liberty with flowing hair faces right, the word LIBERTY inscribed along the upper border and the date 1793 at the lower border. Rev: A chain of 15 links encircles two expressions of the denomination, ONE CENT and 1/100. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERI. is around the border.<p><strong>Weight Standard:</strong> 13.48 grams.<p><strong>Diameter:</strong> Approximately 26 to 27 mm.<p><strong>Die Variety:</strong> Sheldon-1, Breen-1. Obv: The Wide Date obverse of the issue, with the widest space between the digits of any Chain cent obverse. The letters in LIBERTY are evenly spaced and the word is equidistant between the border and the top of Libertys head. The lowest, shortest lock of Libertys hair points down between the digits 7 and 9, and there is a faint die line below the end of the bust, above the right edge of the digit 3 in the date. This obverse die was also used in the S-2 pairing. Rev: This reverse die, in its only use in the large cent series, is readily attributable by the AMERI. abbreviation in the legend.<p>Sheldon-1 is the only die marriage that corresponds to the AMERI. <em>Guide Book</em> variety of the 1793 Chain cent.<p><strong>Die State:</strong> Noyes A/B, Breen III. Obv: A crescent-shaped bulge is evident at the lower border through the digit 1 in the date, and there are faint clash marks from the chain motif on the reverse below the truncation of the bust. Close inspection with a loupe reveals a tiny, faint die chip between the digits 79 in the date. Rev: Lightly cracked at the upper left of the first letter T in STATES with a faint bulge at the border outside the letter U in UNITED.<p><strong>Edge:</strong> Ornamented with bars and a slender vine with leaves.<p><strong>Mintage:</strong> The accepted mintage for the 1793 Chain cent as an issue is 36,103 coins, achieved in eight deliveries during March of that year:<p>-March 1: 11,178 coins<p>-March 2: 2,009 coins<p>-March 4: 4,000 coins<p>-March 5: 3765 coins<p>-March 6: 1,573 coins<p>-March 8: 7,000 coins<p>-March 9: 1,000 coins<p>-March 12: 5,578 coins<p>The mintage from the Sheldon-1 die pairing is believed to comprise approximately 7,000 of the 11,178 coins delivered on March 1, 1793, the remainder of that delivery including examples of the S-2 variety.<p><strong>Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety:</strong> Rarity-4: 118 to 158 coins in all grades.<p><strong>Strike:</strong> Exceptionally well produced by the standards of the early United States Mint, both sides are sharply struck with nearly perfect centering on the planchet. All major design elements are crisp, the individual strands of Libertys hair distinct apart from softness behind the brow as well as over, behind and below the ear.<p><strong>Surfaces:</strong> Glossy steel-brown surfaces are satiny in texture with a smooth, hard and tight appearance. There are no planchet flaws, as well as no evidence of porosity or other environmental damage. Wispy handling marks are generally faint and easily overlooked, although accuracy compels us to mention a light graze in the left obverse field that arcs down to the right behind Libertys head. There are also a few trivial edge bruises: on the obverse outside the letter B in LIBERTY, to the right of the letter Y in that word, and on the reverse at the letter O in OF. The securing feet of the PCGS holder conceal the bruises at the B in LIBERTY and O in OF from view.<p><strong>Commentary:</strong> The 1793 Chain cents are numismatic Americana at their finest. After pattern coinage in 1792, the first federal coins made for general circulation at the new Mint building in Philadelphia were struck at the end of February 1793 and delivered by the coiner in early March. These were the first large cents, production of which preceded that of half cents by several months. The pieces were put into circulation, with no known numismatic attention paid to them. Indeed, the number of people seriously interested in numismatics in the United States at that time could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and these gentlemen mainly concerned themselves with earlier and classic issues.<p>A newspaper article at the time stated that the Chain motif on the reverse was but "an ill omen for Liberty," certainly not symbolic of our nation. No doubt for this reason the design was soon revised completely. The Chain cents are struck in rather low relief, whereas their successors, the Wreath cents, are in dramatic high relief, more so than any other large copper cent issue.<p>Over the years the cents of 1793 have had special place in the hearts of numismatists. Indeed, the first photographic plate printed in <em>The American Journal of Numismatics</em> in 1869 was a panel of cents of this year gathered from various collections. Ever since numismatics became a widely popular hobby in 1857-1858, the ownership of a 1793 Chain cent has been a badge of distinction. The Sheldon-1 die pairing, offered here, enjoys particularly strong demand not only as the first variety of large cent produced, but also as the only one of the Chain Reverse design with the AMERI. abbreviation in the legend.<p>Today in 2020 the typical 1793 Chain cent ranges in grade from Good to Fine, punctuated by an occasional VF, and an even more occasional EF. Examples at the About Uncirculated level attract much excitement; the presently offered PCGS AU-53 is sure to see spirited bidding among both type collectors and early copper enthusiasts.<p>In his cataloging of this coin for Ira & Larry Goldbergs February 2013 sale of the Paul Gerrie Collection, Bob Grellman assigned this coin an EAC grade of EF-40. It is graded EAC EF-40 Average Plus and ranked CC#9 in the 2006 Noyes census.PCGS# 35432. NGC ID: 223G.PCGS Population: 3; 10 finer, three of which are Mint State (MS-64+ BN finest).From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex Walter Husak; Paul Gerrie; Ira & Larry Goldbergs sale of the Paul Gerrie Collection of Large Cents, February 2013, lot 1.
