1794 Liberty Cap Half Cent. C-2b. Rarity-5+. Normal Head. Large Edge Letters. Very Good, Rough. An exciting offering for advanced collectors of early half cent varieties. Attractive medium brown patina dominates the in hand appearance, both sides quite glossy despite considerable roughness which is more prevalent on the reverse. The right half of the obverse is actually quite smooth, and there are no singularly mentionable marks apart from a few faint, well concealed pin scratches on the reverse. Well defined for the grade, although the lower reverse is typically soft with little appreciable detail. The all important edge lettering is sharp and clear. Manley Die State 3.0.<p>This varietys first appearance was in S.H. Chapmans June 1924 sale of the F.R. Alvord Collection, lot 25, which was described as "V. g., eroded surface." In the near century since, only three dozen or so have come to light, far too few to satisfy demand for this avidly collected series. The typical example in numismatic hands is in low grades, as here, but the rarity and fame of this Cohen number ensures that even such pieces are greeted with excitement when they appear at auction. Ex Milwaukee coin show, June 28, 1990, where it was acquired unattributed; Widok Collection; Ira & Larry Goldbergs Pre-Long Beach Auction of February 2020, lot 408. Collector envelope with attribution and (partially incorrect) provenance notes included.
