1803 Draped Bust Cent. S-265. Rarity-4. Large Date, Large Fraction. AU-58 (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 1803 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-265, Breen-23. Obv: Large Date, the digit 1 tall, pointed and nearly touching the hair. The digit 3 is large with a rounded bottom, its upper right corner touching the drapery. This style of date is diagnostic for an 1803-dated obverse, the die also appearing in the S-264 pairing. Rev: Large Fraction with the point of the highest leaf on the right branch of the wreath under the center of the final S in STATES; that letter is repunched at the lower right. There are five berries on each branch. S-265 represents the only use of this reverse die.<p>S-265 is the only die marriage that corresponds to the Large Date, Large Fraction <em>Guide Book</em> variety of the 1803 Draped Bust cent.<p><strong>Die State:</strong> Noyes B/F, Breen VII. Obv: Cracked from the border at 9 oclock, arcing through the lowest ribbon end, the hair curl at the back of the head, the shoulder and continuing to the border right of the digit 1 in the date. A second crack from the border at the end of the bust arcs into the bust to join the first crack in the shoulder above the digit 8 in the date. Faint clash marks are discernible around the ribbon ends and before Libertys profile. Rev: Several cracks are noted: from the letter E in UNITED across the leaves and berry below, the letters ON in ONE, double and triple leaf clusters above the adjacent E, to the left side of the letter O in OF; from the rim through the letter D in UNITED, left branch, upper left side of the letter O in ONE, leaves above, right side of the E in STATES, to the border above that letter; from the border through the first letter A in AMERICA into the upper right side of the wreath above the letter E in ONE; through the letters AT in STATES to the terminal leaves of the right branch. There is no sign of the die bulge that, in Breen State VIII, would eventually obliterate the letters STATE in STATES and the upper left of the wreath.<p><strong>Edge:</strong> Plain.<p><strong>Mintage:</strong> The mintage of 3,131,691 coins that the <em>Guide Book</em> provides for the 1803 Draped Bust cent corresponds to the Mints deliveries for this denomination during calendar year 1803 -- 2,471,353 coins -- plus all but 96,500 of the 756,838 cents (660,338) delivered during calendar year 1804. While many 1803-dated cents were certainly struck during calendar year 1804 (and possibly as late as 1806), the mintage of this issue remains an estimate since we do not know exactly how many 1804-dated cents were struck, or even when all of those coins were produced (they may also have been delivered during calendar year 1805, possibly even 1806).<p><strong>Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety:</strong> Rarity-4: 118 to 158 coins in all grades.<p><strong>Strike:</strong> This is an overall sharply defined example with most design elements fully struck. The individual strands in Libertys hair and the lines in the drapery are crisply delineated, softness is extremely minor and confined to the lowest hair curls on the obverse and a few leaves in the wreath on the reverse. The impression is generally well centered, the obverse fully denticulated, yet a bit tight to 3 oclock, the reverse dawn trivially to 12:30 with little to no denticulation at the upper right.<p><strong>Surfaces:</strong> Marbled autumn and medium brown patina adorns both sides, the former color dominant on the obverse, the latter on the reverse. Blushes of olive and crimson are evident along the left obverse border, and both sides have areas of golden-brown where original mint color was last to fade. Satiny surfaces are glossy, hard and tight with only a few wispy handling marks and faint carbon flecks scattered about. A thin, shallow graze in the reverse field below the upright of the letter R in AMERICA helps to confirm this coins impressive provenance.<p><strong>Commentary:</strong> A must have die pairing for the large cent variety collector, Sheldon-265 is the only marriage that corresponds to the Large Date, Large Fraction <em>Guide Book</em> listing for the date. Examples are scarce and the variety is challenging to find in high grades, with no Mint State examples in either the Bland or 2015 Noyes census listings. The ESM specimen offered here is actually CC#1 in the Bland census with an EAC grade of AU-50, while Noyes says tied for CC#1 and XF40(XF45) Average. The other two CC#1 coins listed in Noyes are the ANS specimen -- which is obviously not available for private ownership -- and the Sheraton-ANA47-R.E. Davis coin that has apparently not been seen in the modern market. A strong argument can be made that the coin offered here is the finest example of the S-265 dies obtainable today. It is a beautiful coin with an illustrious provenance that is worthy of very strong bids.PCGS# 36413. NGC ID: 224G.PCGS Population: 1; 0 finer.From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex Dr. Henry W. Beckwith; S.H. Chapmans sale of the Dr. Henry W. Beckwith Collection, April 1923, lot 32; William Festus Morgan; J.C. Morgenthau & Co., Inc.s sale of the William Festus Morgan Collection of United States Cents, June 1932, lot 72; Stacks, June 1949; C. Douglas Smith, September 1959; Dr. William H. Sheldon, April 1972; R.E. "Ted" Naftzger, Jr., February 1992; Eric Streiner, April 1992; John B. MacDonald, January 1997; Walter Husak; Heritages sale of the Walter Husak Collection, February 2008, lot 2268. The plate coin for the variety in Newcomb, <em>Penny Wise</em> and both the 1991 and 2015 editions of the Noyes large cent reference, as well as on the <em>PCGS CoinFacts</em> website.
