1813 Classic Head Cent. S-292. Rarity-2. MS-62 BN (PCGS).An outstanding example of the date and type that stands head and shoulders above most Classic Head cents at this grade level in terms of color, surface quality, and eye appeal. This is a boldly struck piece with crisp detail from an early state of the dies. Frosty medium-brown surfaces whose pleasing texture is totally undisturbed by contact marks or other flaws. A small depression to the rim at star 6 is just a tiny planchet clip that was mostly obscured by the strong strike.The 1813 Classic Head has always been considered a semi-key date, perhaps not comparable to the 1799, 1804, or 1793, but certainly among the more challenging cents to find for a date collector. As with some of the other Classic Head dates, condition sensitivity and planchet issues are also a concern for 1813. Breen speculates that some of the planchets used for the 1813 S-292 and S-293 varieties may have been damaged by bilge water and/or salt spray during transit from England to America. If so, the casks containing the planchets eventually used for the 1812 and 1814 issues -- all of which were in the same shipment from Boulton -- were not affected to the same degree since they are seen less frequently than the 1813 with pitted or similarly impaired surfaces.The offered beauty is a pleasant exception to the trend of flawed examples of the date and is worthy of a premium bid.PCGS# 36511. NGC ID: 224X.From Heritages September 2013 Long Beach Signature Auction, lot 6225 (as NGC MS-63 BN); Goldbergs sale of the Nancy & Bryan Collection, February 2020, lot 336.
