The Only Mint State 1794 S-40 Cent

1794 1C Head of '94. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-40, B-28, High R.5. Bland MS61; CC-1. Noyes MS60; CC-1. Photo #21136. Our EAC Grade MS60.

Equivalents. Maris 30; Frossard 18.2; Doughty 50; Hays 42; McGirk 6-E; Ross 25-BB; Chapman 26; EAC 27; Encyclopedia 1668; PCGS #901374.

Variety. The Marred Field. Right ribbon ends in a blunt spine. The obverse appears on S-38, S-39, S-40, and NC-2. The reverse appears on S-40. Lettered Edge, leaf points up.

Surfaces. A splendid Mint State example with lustrous dark brown surfaces, the reverse slightly prooflike. Hints of original mint red color can be seen among a few of the obverse letters. Some original planchet roughness is visible along the lower right obverse border, the result of inadequate pressure when this piece was struck, despite sharp details elsewhere. In addition to the rough flan surface, the border is only faintly visible, confirming the blunt strike.

Die State II. The central reverse shows faint signs of die buckling, but no die cracks have formed. Later die states have cracks between UN and from the rim to left foot of D.

Appearances. The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Chapman, Noyes (1991 and 2006), and Breen's Encyclopedia of Large Cents.

Census. Easily the finest known example of the variety and the only Mint State specimen recorded . Three others grade AU with none that grade XF. Even though it was plated in Chapman, Dr. Sheldon was apparently unaware of this specimen. In Penny Whimsy, he wrote: "The Hays-Gilbert-Granberg coin, AU-55, and the Hall-Brand-ANS piece, EF-45, are the only occupants of the upper condition bracket so far as we know."

Commentary. Sheldon rated this variety as Rarity-6 in both Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy. With a current rating of High Rarity-5, only a few of these have been found in the last half century.

In his Encyclopedia of Large Cents, Walter Breen identified this as Frossard's variety 18, 2nd Reverse from his 1879 Monograph. Breen's cross-reference to the Frossard Monograph is correct when Frossard's description is considered, although Frossard's plate of obverse 18 has the doubled curl of S-30 and S-31.

Provenance. Ed. Frossard Collection (Ed. Frossard, 10/1884), lot 887; T. Harrison Garrett; Robert Garrett (1919); John Work Garrett; Johns Hopkins University (privately, 3/1973); John W. Adams (Bowers and Ruddy, 1982 FPL), lot 30, $22,500; Bowers and Ruddy (RCR #46, 12/1982); Bowers and Merena (RCR #48, 6/1983); John W. Adams (2/1984); R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (2/1992); Eric Streiner (1/1993); Tom Morley (Superior, 1/1994), lot 778, $18,700; Tom Morley and Chris Victor-McCawley (4/1995); Al Boka (4/1997).

Personality. A collector since the age of 9, Jon Alan "Al" Boka is a native of Trenton, New Jersey who lives today in Las Vegas, directing the Las Vegas Marathon since 1982. An Air Force veteran who served in France, Boka acquired his first large cent in 1965 while on leave in Amsterdam. He joined Early American Coppers in 1972 and remains an active member today. With the help of Walter Husak and several other collectors, he created a "Provenance" exhibit of 1794 large cents for the 2004 EAC convention and produced a full-color reference, Provenance Gallery of the Year 1794 United States Large Cents. (#35585)

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