The St. Oswald Gem 1794 S-69 Cent

1794 1C Head of '95. MS65 Brown PCGS. S-69, B-61, R.3. Bland MS66; CC-1. Noyes MS67; CC-1. Photo #21048. Our EAC Grade MS64.

Equivalents. Maris 50; Hays 50; McGirk 4-G; Ross 31-DD; Chapman 55; EAC 59; Encyclopedia 1669; PCGS #1365.

Variety. Head of '95; the lowest curl is small and circular. Double leaf below OF; top terminal leaf bent upwards. The obverse appears on S-69 and S-70. The reverse appears on S-66, S-67, S-68, and S-69. Lettered Edge, leaf points up.

Surfaces. Conservatively certified by PCGS, in our opinion, as most observers of commercial coin grading standards would describe this coin as "Red and Brown." Pristine surfaces are essentially flawless, as suggested by the grades of Bland and Noyes. There are a few small, blunt marks on the cheek and neck. Each side has medium olive color with traces of iridescence, retaining about 20% of its original mint red. The original red color is somewhat mellow on this piece, not as flashy as the S-67 and S-71 that share the St. Oswald pedigree.

Die State II. Breen often counted the number of clashing accidents to determine different die states. For State II, he suggests that there are "fourfold clash marks" and for State III he mentions "sevenfold clash marks," in this instance the latest die state he recorded. The student of the series wants to ask why there are not separate die states for coins that show fivefold or sixfold clash marks? There are differences of opinion regarding distinct die states. In the case of clashed dies, perhaps it is better to call the various states with different numbers of clash marks "stages." In fact, many numismatists prefer the term "die stage" to "die state."

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

Census. Bland and Noyes agree that this coin is the finest of three pieces from the St. Oswald Collection. Each of the three grade Mint State, and next finest grades AU55. The Census drops quickly from there. The Hays-ANS coin, called AU50 by Sheldon, is graded XF40 by Bland and Noyes.

Commentary. Like many varieties, the rarity has dropped over the years as more and more coins are examined and attributed. In Penny Whimsy, the S-69 was called R.4, with an indication that it was high in that range: "Upper range of R-4 but in the present review opinion is unanimous against elevating this variety to R-5."

Provenance. St. Oswald Collection (Christie, Manson, & Woods, Ltd., 10/1964), lot 160, $8,400; Spink & Sons, Ltd. (London); Dorothy Paschal; Dr. William H. Sheldon (4/1972); R.E. Naftzger, Jr. (2001).

Personality. Spink has its origins with a business begun by John Spink in 1666, described on the firm's Web site as a multifaceted business that included goldsmithing and acting as a pawnbroker. Its coin sales began in 1702, and 1772 saw the formation of Spink and Son Ltd, which sharpened the firm's focus on gold and silver numismatic items. Surprisingly, Spink did not hold its first coin auction until 1978, though it has since built up a strong reputation in that field. The past 50 years have seen ownership of Spink pass through various hands, including Andrew Weir & Co, Ltd; Christie's; and Singapore-based 1818 Capital, an investment capital firm. (#35690)

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