1793 Flowing Hair Cent. Wreath Reverse. S-9. Rarity-2. Vine and Bars Edge. AU-55 (PCGS). CAC. This elegant 1793 Wreath cent offers superior quality and eye appeal for this classic design from the first year of regular issue U.S. Mint coinage. Dressed in wonderfully original golden-brown patina, warmer steel-olive highlights are tightly confined to the protected areas around many of the design elements. The strike is sharply rendered with all features bold for the assigned grade, and those in the recesses retaining full detail. Satiny surfaces and not only hard and tight, but also remarkably smooth in hand. The unaided eye catches only a lone spot in the upper left obverse field, certainly a part of this coins surface for decades, and a useful identifier for tracking this piece through future market appearances. Even upon closer inspection with a loupe the surfaces retain their remarkably smooth quality. A few flan flaws along the left reverse border are so trivial as to be hardly worth mentioning, and the only noteworthy mark -- a noncontiguous abrasion -- is well concealed within the central strands of Libertys flowing hair. With outstanding eye appeal and superior technical quality, it is easy to see why CAC approved of this coin. We are confident that you will, too.<p>While Chain cents often attract the most interest for their position as the first made, there is not a collector alive who would assert that Chain cents are more beautiful than their Wreath reverse counterparts. Breen boldly suggested that the elegance of the Wreath cents "was Director David Rittenhouses answer to the newspaper criticisms" lodged against the Chain cent. Though no evidence exists to support this, the fact remains that the Wreaths represented a substantial step up in both design artistry and engraving execution. The details of this fine style design are lost with even light wear, making high grade Wreath cents such as this the crown princes of the early copper world.<p>In any numismatic season a 1793 Wreath cent is an object of desire, and even coins that are worn nearly smooth command interest and attention. The 2000 reference <em>Walter Breens Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents: 1793-1814</em> states that approximately 4% of the mintage of 63,353 coins for the 1793 Wreath cent is extant, or 2,400 to 2,800 in all grades. About Uncirculated and Mint State survivors exist in a slightly greater percentage of the mintage than for later years, perhaps due to interest shown in these early U.S. Mint products by contemporary collectors in England, where numismatics was firmly established by the 1790s. Advanced numismatists will be sure to take note of this highlight among the early coppers in this sale. It is a newcomer to the modern numismatic market, acquired by our consignors father in the 1950s or 1960s outside of regular numismatic channels, and tucked away since then. From the Collection of Dr. Frances W. Constable.
