Superb Gem 1794 S-67 Cent

1794 1C Head of '95. MS67 Red and Brown PCGS. S-67, B-59, R.3. Bland MS68; CC-1. Noyes MS67; CC-1. Photo #21315. Our EAC Grade MS65.

Equivalents. Maris 38 (Roman Plica); Frossard 20d; Doughty 58; Hays 54; McGirk 4-J; Ross 33-DD; Chapman 53; EAC 57; Encyclopedia 1669; PCGS #1366.

Variety. Head of '95; the lowest curl is large and circular. Double leaf below OF; top terminal leaf bent upwards. The obverse appears on S-67. The reverse appears on S-66, S-67, S-68, and S-69. Lettered Edge, leaf points up. This is the first of the Gardner Heads, the obverse die apparently produced by John Smith Gardner, who was acting assistant engraver to Robert Scot. The Gardner Heads are usually classified as the Head of '95 type, although technically that distinction only applies to S-72.

Surfaces. An amazing 1794 cent, retaining at least 50% of its original mint red. It is fully struck with complete obverse and reverse borders, about as fine a cent as anyone could hope for.

Die State III. The obverse has a faint crack through the tops of RTY, and another more prominent die crack from the upper lip across the cheek, and into the hair. There appears to be an additional die crack joining the right side of the 9 to the left corner of the 4.

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

Census. Just three Mint State examples of this variety are known, including two from the St. Oswald collection. This piece is somewhat finer than the other, and it is the finest known example of this variety.

This cent may be the single finest 1794 large cent in existence. Bill Noyes records three coins as MS67. The others are examples of S-69 and S-71, both also from the St. Oswald collection. Del Bland has similarly graded this piece and the St. Oswald S-71 as MS68, and considers these two coins as the best he has seen among all 1794 cents. The St. Oswald S-71 is also offered as part of the Husak Collection. It is our opinion that this piece is marginally finer than either of the other two top grade coins.

Commentary. In Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy, Sheldon discussed the final group of 1794 cents: "The final six obverses of the 1794's, beginning with this one, are in quite a distinctive style-Chapman's Style 6. The heads are a little larger, broader, and the whole design is executed in a 'hard, inartistic style, as continued in 1795.' The relief is now almost entirely flat, the hair is braided into five heavy, coarse locks, there is little evidence of fine engraving, and the features suggest no expression other than a grim stare, or as Maris put it, a Roman stare. He called these the Roman Plicae."

John Smith Gardner was hired by the Mint in November 1794 and served in the capacity of acting assistant engraver, not an officially commissioned position. He was paid as a regular laborer at the rate of $2.25 per day, according to surviving records. In 1795 and 1796, he was granted a raise to $3 per day. His work was apparently intermittent, as pay records indicate that he was paid for 78 days of work on March 31, 1796, and for 50 days of work on August 26, 1796. In addition to his engraving skills, Gardner was also an inventor who was best known for his "Stenographic Telegraphic" that Walter Breen described as an ancestor of the court reporter's stenotype machine. In his Encyclopedia of Large Cents, Breen discussed some of the engraving work done by Gardner: "He is best known for the head punch for 1795-97 half cents, the cent heads used on the remaining 1794 cents and all the 1795s, and the 'small head' half dollars of 1795, together with the wreaths for all the above."

While the Head of '95 dies are generally attributed to Gardner, S.H. Chapman was apparently unaware of his employment by the Mint. In 1924, Frank Stewart noted that Gardner was "acting assistant engraver" as early as November 1924. Two years later, in the second edition of his work, Chapman comments that "no mention of an assistant engraver is recorded until he [Scot] obtained the appointment of John Reich in 1807."

Provenance. St. Oswald Collection (Christie, Manson, & Woods, Ltd., 10/1964), lot 158, $2,184; A.H. Baldwin & Sons, Ltd. (London); Dorothy Paschal; Dr. William H. Sheldon (4/1972); R.E. Naftzger, Jr.

Personality. Albert Henry Baldwin, a British collector who began his numismatic business while working as a teacher, established a shop with two of his sons at the beginning of the 20th century, although his earliest transaction as a young coin dealer occurred in 1872 when he was 14 years old. The firm has grown in size and reputation, and has been continuously held by the family through the decades. (#35685)

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