Second Finest 1801 JR-1 Dime, MS63

1801 10C MS63 NGC. JR-1, R.4. A stunning Mint State example with satiny silver luster on the obverse and reverse, enhanced by considerable rose toning on both sides. As usual, the central obverse and reverse are weak, with most other details sharp. Only the stars at the right obverse are flat. A few trivial hairlines and other microscopic blemishes are of little concern.

Die State. Considerable die rust exists on both sides. Dotted lines of die rust in the lower right obverse field are characteristic of the variety. While the obverse die rust is primarily limited to the fields, the reverse die rust encroaches upon the devices.

Condition Census. The second finest 1801 JR-1 dime, according to Ed Price, who states that he has seen one finer coin.

Appearances. This is the dime book plate coin, also illustrated in the Bolen, Lovejoy, and Merkin catalogs.

Obverse Die. The date is closely spaced with both 1's separated from the device. Stars 1 and 7 are equally distant from the curl and L, star 8 is very close to the Y, and star 13 is close to the drapery. All stars are widely spaced with none touching. LIB are closely spaced with BERTY widely spaced. The R was first entered too low, and corrected. A vertical spine from the curl tip nearly reaches the left base of the E.
State a. Perfect die, may not exist. State b. Severely rusted die. State c. Lapped die, probably does not exist on JR-1.

Reverse Die. Star 12 is solidly joined to the eagle's beak, diagnostic. AME are joined with all other letters separated. Stars 1 through 4 and star 6 all touch the clouds; star 5 just misses. A leaf tip touches the right base of I, and another is below the space between C and A. The outer arrow tip is below the right curve of U.
State a. Perfect die with a spine up to the right from the right corner of the shield. State b. Minor die rust.

Auction Notes. Lester Merkin handled many desirable properties over a number of years as a numismatic auctioneer. Among those collections he handled was a remarkable collection of dimes that appeared in his April 1966 catalog. Billed as "The Finest Existing Collection of United States Dimes," the quality and scope was amazing. Merkin wrote:

"Within the past century only five comparable collections of dimes have ever been offered at auction: Parmelee (1890), F.C.C. Boyd (1945), Atwater (1946), W.W. Neil (1947), Elliot Landau (1958), the last named being the smallest but the only one of the group which could have come near matching the present offering for sheer excellence of grade. There are coins here which are in our experience absolutely unequalled and in some instances unapproached, most notably the 1797 with 13 stars, the 1801, and the 1860 O, as well as some of the early S mint coins which until now have been unknown in strictly mint state. If ever a collection of dimes could be compared to Helfenstein's large cents in quality, this is that collection. It is an opportunity unlikely to be repeated for another few generations."

The two specific early dimes identified in his introduction are both offered here with the Ed Price Collection .

Heritage Commentary. Much as Merkin compared the 1966 dime collection to the Helfenstein large cents, the Ed Price dimes and quarter eagles will hold their own against the Husak large cents.

The 1801 dimes were coined from two obverse dies and one reverse die. While the reverse of JR-1 has extensive die rust, it is less advanced than found on JR-2. They are part of the interconnected group of dime and quarter eagle varieties struck from 1798 to 1801.

Consignor Commentary. Although listed as finest seen in the dime book, I have seen one that is finer, so I would call this the second finest known.

Provenance. Possibly from DeWitt Smith and H.O. Granberg; William Cutler Atwater (B. Max Mehl, 6/1946), lot 893; Lester Merkin (4/1966), lot 93; Stack's (6/1980), lot 293; Lovejoy Collection (Stack's, 10/1990), lot 16; Numisma '95 (RARCOA and David Akers, 11/1995), lot 2014; Jim O'Donnell (4/1998).
From The Ed Price Collection.(Registry values: P7) (#4471)

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