1797 Draped Bust Cent. S-123. Rarity-4. Reverse of 1797, Stems to Wreath. MS-65 RB (PCGS). OGH. CAC.<strong>Type:</strong> Draped Bust.<p><strong>Design:</strong> Obv: A draped bust of Liberty faces right with the word LIBERTY above and the date 1797 below. Libertys hair is tied with a ribbon, the ends of which are plainly evident at the back of the head. Rev: A wreath surrounds the denomination ONE CENT, the base of the wreath bound by a ribbon tied into a bow. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around the border and another expression of the denomination 1/100 is below.<p><strong>Weight Standard:</strong> 10.89 grams.<p><strong>Diameter:</strong> 29 mm.<p><strong>Die Variety:</strong> Sheldon-123, Breen-12. Obv: Readily identifiable by injury to the die that takes the form of a cut on Libertys cheek immediately below the eye. This damage may have been caused by the edge of another die. An additional diagnostic of this die is the compact date with the first digit 7 leaning slightly to the right. This obverse also appears in the S-122, NC-2 and NC-3 varieties. Rev: Reverse of 1797 with 16 leaves in the left branch of the wreath, 19 in the right, berries six left and six right. The fraction is skewed to the left, and there is a double leaf outside the wreath under the letter D in UNITED. Light die scratches are evident from the F in OF slanting down toward the first letter A in AMERICA, and from the N in ONE, through the left base of the adjacent E, to the left top of the T in CENT. This reverse also appears in the S-119 pairing of the 1796-dated Draped Bust issue.<p>S-123 is one of numerous varieties that correspond to the Reverse of 1797, Stems to Wreath <em>Guide Book</em> variety of the 1797 Draped Bust cent.<p><strong>Die State:</strong> Noyes C/B, Breen III. Obv: Relapped with no clash marks and the die scratch through the letter Y in LIBERTY also no longer evident. Rev: A tiny break in the border has fused two of the denticles outside the letters TA in STATES. The die scratches mentioned above are described as cracks by both Sheldon and Breen.<p><strong>Edge:</strong> Plain.<p><strong>Mintage:</strong> The mintage of 897,510 coins for the 1797 Draped Bust cent provided in most numismatic references corresponds to the Mints deliveries for this denomination during calendar year 1797. Deliveries took place from February 6 through March 30, then from November 6 through December 13. No cents were delivered between the end of March and the beginning of November due to delays in copper shipments and the yearly yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. The February 6 through March 30 deliveries include coins struck from 1796-dated dies, while coinage from 1797-dated dies continued into 1798. As such, the exact mintage of the 1797-dated Draped Bust cent issue cannot be determined.<p><strong>Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety:</strong> Rarity-4: 118 to 158 coins in all grades.<p><strong>Strike:</strong> The impression is generally well centered, denticulation complete around both sides, although a bit broader along the lower right obverse and right reverse. The finer elements of the wreath are somewhat blunt, typical of coins struck from this reverse die, but otherwise we note bold to sharp detail throughout the design.<p><strong>Surfaces: </strong>A wonderfully original example with plenty of faded autumn-orange color remaining to surfaces that also exhibit light olive-brown patina. Frosty and smooth with are no marks of consequence, just a few wispy carbon flecks on the obverse. A thin, short, nearly vertical flan flaw at the junction of the drapery and bust above the final digit 7 in the date will help trace this coins provenance.<p><strong>Commentary:</strong> Along with S-119 and S-135, Sheldon-123 comprised a major portion of the Nichols Find, information on which can be found above in our description for the S-119 cent in the ESM Collection. Thanks to that dispersal by David Nichols during the late 1850s and early 1860s, S-123 is one of the most obtainable die marriages among 1797-dated cents in Mint State and so is popular for type purposes as well as for inclusion in high grade sets of <em>Guide Book</em> varieties, as here. In an absolute sense, of course, such high quality coins are rare, with demand among todays collectors far outstripping supply. Among the finer examples known to PCGS, and ranked CC#3 in the Noyes census, this beautiful Gem is sure to see spirited bidding at auction.PCGS# 1423.PCGS Population (all die marriages of the Reverse of 1797, Stems to Wreath variety): 5; 4 finer in this category (all MS-66 RB).From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex New Netherlands Coin Company, June 10, 1953; Norweb Collection; our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Norweb Collection, Part III, November 1988, lot 2760.
