1835 Matron Head Cent. N-4. Rarity-4+ (Rarity-8 for die state). Small 8 and Stars. VG-8 (PCGS). Dark greenish-olive surfaces with light mottling of faint olive-brown. Glossy with a smooth appearance on first inspection, though closer examination reveals some microporosity. The extremely rare terminal die state for a scarce variety, this coin tells the tale, so to speak, as to why the variety is scarce. The large cud over NITED is just as seen on the previous state (offered above), but the crack extending from its right end over the D now continues heavily nearly to the A of STATES, before connecting to the rim by a branch crack. This area has begun to break away and is on a slightly different plane.<br data-uw-rm-sr="" role="presentation" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px;" /><br data-uw-rm-sr="" role="presentation" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px;" />This is the only example of the die state listed in the Noyes Census and it comes with a particularly fine provenance back to Howard Newcomb who discussed this late state in his 1944 book as follows: "A rare die condition is as Andrews describes-having rim heavily broken over NITED touching tops of these letters and obliterating upper half of IT, the crack is now very heavy from D to near top of A in STATES where it turns up to rim, field is sunken between this crack and rim." As rare as this state is, Andrews was very lucky to have seen it at all, and as this coin has been in collectors hands since at least 1944, this might well be the coin that Andrews studied when he documented the variant. A prize for the die state specialist. Plated in Noyes. PCGS# 37081. NGC ID: 225S. From the John McBride Collection. Earlier ex Howard R. Newcomb; J.C. Morgenthau and Co.s sale of the Newcomb Collection, May 1945, lot 660; our (Stacks) sale of the Floyd T. Starr Collection, Part II, December 1984, lot 1718; Superiors sale of the Jack H. Robinson Collection, January 1989, lot 1040; Superiors sale of the Dennis Mendelson Collection, February 1991, lot 473; Dennis Mendelson; Wes Rasmussen, April 1991; Dennis Mendelson, July 1998; our sale of the Twin Leaf Collection, Part II, March 2016 Baltimore Auction, lot 10146.
