1798 Draped Bust Cent. S-161. Rarity-2. Style I Hair. MS-63 BN (NGC).An impressive Mint State example with rich chocolate-brown color and slight overtones of golden-olive and steel-blue. Delicate frosty luster is seen in the fields and both sides are covered with pleasing mint gloss. The strike is firm and only trivially off-center on the obverse. Intermediate die state, Breen Die State IV, with advanced die cracks on each side but no rim break over STATES. This variety provides an interesting study for die state specialists. A few small marks bear mention -- minute scratches in the obverse field and some faint, old scrapes on and around some of the reverse leaves. These are easy to overlook and the overall level of preservation is admirable.As a whole, the 1798 cents are one of the more available 18<sup>th</sup> century U.S. mint issues in high grade. However, when split up into their two major categories of Style I and Style II hair types, Style I Hair examples as offered here are far rarer and quite elusive at the choice mint state level. This coin is a significant example of the Sheldon-161 die variety as well, and comes with provenance to several notable large cent specialists.PCGS# 36047. NGC ID: 2244.Ex Carl Wurtzbach; Virgil M. Brand; Emanuel Taylor, October 1960; R.E. Naftzger, Jr.; Goldbergs sale of the R.E. Naftzger, Jr. Collection, September 2008, lot 175; Dan Holmes; Goldbergs sale of the Dan Holmes Collection, September 2009, lot 295, via Greg Hannigan; Adam Mervis; Heritages sale of the Adam Mervis Collection, January 2014, lot 2657.
