1840 Braided Hair Cent. N-6. Rarity-1. Large Date. MS-66 RB (PCGS). CAC. Phenomenal quality and eye appeal for the type, date and issue. Frosty surfaces retain plenty of vivid mint color in pinkish-orange that is more extensive on the obverse. Iridescent steel-brown toning - fully original and attractive - dominates on the reverse. The strike is full over most features, and we note only trivial softness to some of the stars that in no way detracts. Virtually flawless, the surfaces are silky smooth in texture and reveal little in the way even of useful identifiers. For provenance purposes, nonetheless, we point out swirls of slightly deeper toning in the obverse field inside star 11 and on the reverse at the letters NI in UNITED, as well as a tiny mark in the reverse field between the final letter A in AMERICA and the branch stem. Grellman Die State b, with sharp repunching to the digits 40 in the date, but the die line along the denticles outside the letters RIC in AMERICA no longer present. Noyes assigns this outstanding Gem an EAC grade of MS66 in his census, with a ranking of CC#1. In his cataloging for the Naftzger III Sale, Bob Grellman also says MS66 and CC#1 and concludes his description of this coin with the noteworthy comment, "Arguably the finest 1840 Large Date cent by a small margin." From William Doyle Galleries sale of the Loye L. Lauder Collection, December 1983, lot 433; Ira & Larry Goldbergs sale of the R.E. "Ted" Naftzger Collection, Part III, September 2009, lot 609.
