1801 Draped Bust Cent. S-222. Rarity-1. AU-58 BN (PCGS). CAC.Wonderful quality for the grade and date. A light brown specimen with lively tan toning in the protected areas where the color has just barely faded from original mint red. Early die state which provides an unusually sharp strike and reflective luster in the fields. Many minute abrasions on each side, but none are singularly notable or distracting. The highpoints of the devices are toned to a slightly darker steel-brown, but there is very little actual wear, a bit of "cabinet friction" is all. 1801 is a less common date among the Draped Bust cents of which high grade survivors are scarce. One with the quality and eye appeal of the offered coin is a real find.This piece was discovered in England, a source of many of the great early cents available to collectors today, and is a solidly within the condition census for the Sheldon-222 die variety. It trails just a couple of choice mint state examples, one of those with some mint red, yet the superb strike, color, and overall eye appeal of the present coin stacks up well against those technically finer specimens. Here is a lovely near-mint piece, well-recommended for the quality-conscious collector of large cents by either date or die variety.PCGS# 36251.Ex Lester Merkin, May 1965; C. Douglas Smith, 1971; Robinson S. Brown, Jr.; Superiors sale of the Robinson S. Brown, Jr. Collection, September 1986, lot 328; Dr. Phillip W. Ralls; Goldbergs sale of the Dr. Phillip W. Ralls Collection, January 2014, lot 622; Goldbergs sale of the Nancy & Bryan Collection, February 2020, lot 322.
