1800/79 Draped Bust Cent. S-194. Rarity-3. Style II Hair. MS-61 BN (PCGS).<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 1800 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-194, Breen-8. Obv: Style II Hair (a.k.a. Head of 1799) with an extra curl in Libertys hair at the shoulder. 80/79 with only the top left of the 7 underdigit showing above the 8, the final digit 0 leans to the left. This obverse also appears in the S-195 pairing. Rev: The fraction bar is high and closer to the numerator than the denominator, the left top of the letter F in OF is long. S-194 represents the only use of this reverse die.<p>S-194 is one of several die marriages that correspond to the 1800/79 Style II Hair <em>Guide Book</em> variety of the 1800 Draped Bust cent. The others are S-192, S-193, S-195, S-196, NC-1 and NC-2.<p><strong>Die State:</strong> Noyes B/D, Breen VI. Obv: Clashed at and after the ERTY in LIBERTY, the die is sinking in that area with a bulge through the top of those letters. Rev: Cracks are seen from the border through the upper left point of the numerator to the left side of the fraction bar, and from the border above the letter C in AMERICA through the adjacent A and the right ribbon end to the right end of the fraction bar. Border break from the denominator to the final letter A in AMERICA, another above the adjacent C.<p><strong>Edge:</strong> Plain.<p><strong>Mintage:</strong> The <em>Guide Book</em> provides a mintage of 2,822,175 coins for the 1800 Draped Bust cent, which corresponds to the Mints total deliveries for this denomination during calendar year 1800, as reported by the Mint director. Some of these coins were likely from earlier-dated dies, a prime candidate in this regard the 1799 S-189 variety.<p><strong>Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety:</strong> Rarity-3: 301 to 400 coins in all grades.<p><strong>Strike:</strong> Boldly to sharply defined overall, the impression is well centered with virtually uniform denticulation around both sides.<p><strong>Surfaces:</strong> Frosty surfaces exhibit dominant autumn and olive-brown patina. Swirls of steely-copper toning are scattered about, more prominently on the reverse. Some faded mint color can be seen on both sides. Hard and tight with good gloss, smooth overall, a tiny nick in the left obverse field is mentioned solely as an identifying feature.<p><strong>Commentary:</strong> The obverse die of this variety was prepared in late 1798 and initially intended, but not used, for production of 1798- or 1799-dated cents. The final digit in the date was either omitted or later effaced, allowing Mint employees to repurpose this die for 1800-dated coinage. The ESM specimen from the Sheldon-194 die pairing is ranked CC#10 in the 2015 Noyes census with an EAC grade of XF45(AU50) Average.PCGS# 1455. NGC ID: 2U57.PCGS Population (all die marriages of the 1800/79 Style II Hair variety): 1; 10 finer (MS-64+ BN finest).From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex unidentified European source; Heritage Rare Coin Galleries, July 1984; Mid-American Rare Coins (Ron Guth), July 30, 1984; Jack H. Robinson; Superiors sale of the Jack H. Robinson Collection of Large Cents and Half Cents, January 1989, lot 411; Tom Morley, April 14, 1989; Superiors sale of the Robinson S. Brown, Jr. Collection of Large Cents, January 1996, lot 268; Superiors New York ANA Sale of August 2002, lot 234; Heritages sale of the Joshua and Ally Walsh Collection of United States Cents, January 2006 FUN Signature Auction, lot 3027.
