High Census-Level 1796 S-81 Liberty Cap Cent

1796 1C Liberty Cap. MS63 Brown PCGS. S-81, B-2, R.3. Bland MS60; CC-1. Noyes AU50; tied for CC-3. Photo #34824. Our EAC Grade AU55.

Equivalents. Proskey 1; Doughty 71; Gilbert A; McGirk 1A; Ross 1A; Clapp-Newcomb A; EAC 2; Encyclopedia 1683; PCGS #1392.

Variety. Curved date touching hair and nearly touching bust. Leaf pair at UN, triplet at CA. The obverse appears on S-81 and S-82. The reverse appears on S-81. Plain Edge.

Surfaces. Splendid light chocolate surfaces are accented by considerable faded mint red on both sides, blemished only slightly by a few minor pinscratches and abrasions. Most of the surface characteristics are left over from the original flan, including a small planchet flake above the right ribbon bow.

Die State I. There is no evidence of the faint linear bulge that Breen describes for the early die state.

Appearances. The obverse and reverse are illustrated in Noyes (2007).

Census. Bland records this piece as the finest known S-81, and the only Mint State survivor from these dies. However, we believe that it falls just short of Mint State.

Commentary. With the exception of Walter Breen, all authors describing large cent varieties have recorded the S-81 as the first 1796 Liberty Cap cent coined. Varieties S-81 through S-90 form a sequence of 10 interconnected die marriages, followed by a single unlinked variety, S-91. Breen placed the S-91 first in his sequence, ahead of all the others, based on a study by Dens Loring showing that the S-91 reverse is much more similar to that of S-81 than it is to S-90.

Provenance. Dr. George P. French (B. Max Mehl, 1929 FPL), lot 96 $250; T. James Clarke (1944); B. Max Mehl (1949); Dr. William H. Sheldon; Dorothy Paschal (11/1975); Denis W. Loring; Ed Hipps; 1980 ANA (Steve Ivy), lot 944, $8,600; Alan J. Prescot (2/1996); Denis W. Loring (2/1997); Alan J. Kollar; Superior (5/2005), lot 1016, $55,200.

Personality. Allan J. Kollar became interested in coin collecting in the mid-1950s, searching through change from his newspaper route. He recalls finding a worn V-nickel and a Standing Liberty quarter, worth 30 cents at the time. During college he earned degrees in fine arts from Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington. His experience in these fields led to an eventual career as a fine arts dealer. It was this career that actually enhanced his numismatic hobby, giving priority to aesthetics. In the May 2005 Superior catalog offering his collection, Kollar comments: "I learned in selecting coins, as well as in choosing fine paintings, that one can study and look for years; however the real education begins when one buys the precious object." (#35750)

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