Finest Collectible 1794 S-23 Cent

1794 1C Head of '94. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-23, B-7, High R.4. Bland AU55; tied for CC-1. Noyes AU55; tied for CC-1. Photo #21756. Our EAC Grade AU55.

Equivalents. Maris 13 (Standless 4); Frossard 9; Doughty 33; Hays 18; McGirk 4-C; Ross 12-K; Chapman 7; EAC 7; Encyclopedia 1657; PCGS #901374.

Variety. Date has a standless 4 missing its base. Numerator tall and resting on fraction bar. The obverse appears on S-23. The reverse appears on S-23 and S-24. Lettered Edge, leaf points up. This die marriage is usually identified by the obverse die cracks of State II and later states.

Surfaces. Smooth surfaces with cartwheel luster exhibit medium brown and darker olive color, with a few minor splashes of maroon patina. Each side has a singular jagged lamination defect, on the obverse from the top of the head to BE, and on the reverse from the lower right leaf pair through the right stem and ribbon ends.

Die State V. The obverse die is shattered with a crack from the border to the pole, neck, and head, eventually reaching the upper edge of the cap and border. Another crack from the border touches the right serif of Y to Liberty's nose, joining the first crack at the jaw. Breen mentions faint bulging on the reverse in this final die state, but it is not evident on this coin.

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

Census. Noyes and Bland grade the two finest examples of S-23 as AU55. This piece is the single finest in collectors hands, with the other similar coin in the ANS Collection. Several examples follow that grade VF. Perhaps 15 examples of S-23 are known in VF or finer. Five of the top six pieces known today were known when Penny Whimsy was published. Sheldon mentioned this specimen, writing "the 50-coin is a discovery of recent months."

Commentary. Perfect-die examples of this variety are extremely rare. In 1949 Sheldon knew of two, both in the ANS. One of those, tied with this coin for finest known honors, is plated in Breen's Large Cent Encyclopedia. Earlier, Chapman described the variety and a late die state, equivalent to the present specimen, noting that both states are very rare.

James Davy of England visited the first Mint in December 1794 and made several recommendations to the Secretary of State in a letter dated December 27. His purpose seems to have been either employment at the Mint, or to provide support to the Mint from his home. The Mint never hired Davy, and his recommendations were apparently not put in place, at least not right away. Frank Stewart described Davy as an efficiency engineer. It seems that Davy was quite familiar with coinage procedures in England, perhaps from an association with Boulton and Watt. Today, the Davy report is useful for its description of certain procedures in place at the time (quotes from the report are lightly edited):

"In the manufacturing of any article, the necessary articles to be attended to are, first, the procuring of an ample and regular supply of such materials as are required, in the state best calculated for the operations which are to be performed on them, and to answer best the purpose for which the article is ultimately designed; and secondly, the application of such power as are best calculated for performing most completely the necessary operation, in the shortest time, and with the least expense.

"Keeping in view these principles, I shall offer my opinions on the Mint of the United States of America, founded on the partial view I have obtained, of the information collected relative to it. I find the supply of copper has not been regular, that the power now applied is not adequate, nor are many parts of the machinery adapted for performing the work to the best advantage, and the labor is not sufficiently divided."

Provenance. Discovered in England; Stack's (1957); C. Douglas Smith (6/1958); Dorothy I. Paschal; Dr. William H. Sheldon (4/1972); R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (2/1992); Eric Streiner (4/1992); Dr. Allen Bennett (2001).

Personality. Dr. Allen Bennett recently described himself as a "reclusive physician." An active collector in many different fields, he assembled a remarkable collection of 1794 large cents from 1985 to 2001. He also collects, or has collected, contemporary art, oriental rugs, Conder tokens, and cowry shells. Bennett sold his 1794 cent collection to Walter Husak, and many of those coins appear in the present sale. (#35534)

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