PCGS Mint State 1794 S-22 Cent

1794 1C Head of '94. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-22, B-6, R.1. Bland AU55; tied for CC-1. Noyes AU55; CC-3. Photo #20379. Our EAC Grade AU55.

Equivalents. Maris 28 (Large Planchet); Frossard 17; Doughty 48; Hays 43; McGirk 7-D; Ross 26-CC; Chapman 6; EAC 6; Encyclopedia 1668; PCGS #901374.

Variety. Sixth lock from bottom is bent down. Leaf pairs at D and first A in AMERICA are spaced apart. Usually, mounds on the reverse. The obverse appears on S-22. The reverse appears on S-22. Lettered Edge, leaf points up.

Surfaces. A nicely centered, well detailed example. The surfaces have wonderful olive and chocolate color intermingled with lighter tan, faded from original red. A few tiny marks on each side are mostly from the original planchet stock. Bill Noyes rates the surfaces as average plus.

Die State I. Perfect dies with no die cracks, clash marks, or reverse mounds. This variety is known as the Mounds Reverse, as it is normally found with heavy mounds inside the wreath, from die sinking that progressively worsens. Sheldon noted that famed collector Carl Wurtzbach had formed a collection of six different examples showing the worsening progression of reverse die sinking.

Appearances. The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Noyes (1991 and 2006).

Census. Bland records three AU55 pieces as the finest known examples of this common variety, followed by six others that grade AU50. Noyes grades each of the top five pieces AU55, distinguishing them by surface quality. Earlier, in Penny Whimsy, Sheldon called two pieces Mint State: "the Bent Lock variety is not so common in Mint State as we formerly supposed [in Early American Cents]. In the present review only two 60-coins have been accounted for."

Commentary. After a short run of die marriages was produced from the 1793 head punch created the previous year by Joseph Wright, a long sequence of varieties was coined from new head punches known today as the Head of 1794. These dies were created by, or under the supervision, of Chief Engraver Robert Scot. Some numismatists believe Scot actually engraved the dies, while others believe he was a consultant or figurehead in the engraving department, supervising others who actually performed the work.

On February 8, 1794, David Rittenhouse estimated coinage expense to the Senate, based on the cost to produce 20,200 cents. This quantity was chosen as it weighs 600 pounds avoirdupois, requiring 1,000 pounds of sheet copper. He itemized the expense, including the cost of 600 pounds of copper (the remaining 400 pounds was recycled, thus cost was not considered) and of each individual step in the coining process. The report included the number of workmen and days required for each step, as well as the cost of supplies, providing important details about Mint operations:

Cutting 1,000 pounds out of sheets into slips: 2 hands, 1 day, $2.00
Rolling 1,000 pounds of slips: 2 hands, 2 days, $4.00
Cutting 1,000 pounds into blanks: 1 hand, 2 days, $2.00
Annealing 600 pounds of blanks: 2 hands, 1/2 day, $1.00
Cleaning 600 pounds of blanks: 2 hands, 1/2 day, $1.00
Milling 600 pounds of blanks: 1 hand, 2 days, $2.00
Coining 600 pounds of blanks: 3 hands, 2 1/2 days, $7.50
Quarter cord of hickory wood: $1.50
Four horses, two days: $1.50
Salt, sal enixum, etc. for boiling copper: $1.00
600 pounds of copper: $160.00
Total cost: $183.50
Profit to the United States: $18.50

The profit indicated in this report may have been enough to cover the related cost of additional expenses, such as die engraving mentioned above, as well as salaries for the Mint officers and other expenses.

Provenance. B. Max Mehl (4/1926), lot 359, $37; Frank Hussey (New Netherlands, 4/1960), lot 1341, $140; C. Douglas Smith (1965); Alfred Bonard (Numismatic Enterprises, 2/1968), lot 25, $1,100; R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (2/1992); Eric Streiner (4/1992); Dr. Allen Bennett (1/1998).

Personality. A real estate developer, Alfred Bonard lived in Chappaqua, New York. In 1965 he purchased the 1794 cent collection of C. Douglas Smith and later sold the coins through Henry J. Berube and French's. Little else is known of Bonard, although he was born in August 1897 and died in December 1989, according to Social Security records. (#35531)

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