1793 1/2 C C-4, B-4, Low R.3, MS65 Brown PCGS....

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1793 C-4, B-4 Half Cent, MS65 Brown
Second Finest Known
Late Die State

1793 1/2 C C-4, B-4, Low R.3, MS65 Brown PCGS. Breen Die State III, Manley Die State 2.0. The obverse has noticeable die rust around the date with clash marks at the top of the head near the cap. A small rust lump at the top of the 7 is sharply visible on this piece. Delicate recutting of the E in UNITED and ER of AMERICA are visible. The obverse die, appearing on Cohen-3 and Cohen-4, features a hooked bust line and a short 7 in the date that are both diagnostic. The other obverse of C-1 and C-2 has a smoothly curved bust line and a long 7 that extends well below the 1 and 9. The reverse appears only on Cohen-4, with extremely long and widely spread ribbons and stems left and right of the fraction.

Mint Director David Rittenhouse had several challenges to overcome after his appointment to the post in 1792. Those challenges included the construction of buildings, acquisition of coining equipment, and hiring officers and laborers to handle all of the tasks related to coinage production. A demanding provision of the Mint Act of April 2, 1792 forced the Mint to limit production to copper coins during the first year. Section 5 of the Mint Act was the problem:

And be it further enacted, That the said assayer, chief coiner and treasurer, previously to entering upon the execution of their respective offices, shall each become bound to the United States of America, with one or more sureties to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, with condition for the faithful and diligent performance of the duties of his office.

The most qualified individuals for the positions of assayer and chief coiner, respectively, were Albion Cox and Henry Voight, and neither was able to provide sureties in that amount. What has become known as the "coinage impediment" was resolved by an Act dated March 3, 1794 that reduced the bond requirement for the assayer to $1,000, and that of the chief coiner to $5,000, both achievable amounts for the two officers.

Prior to the amendment, coinage was limited to copper in 1793 and early 1794. A sufficient supply of copper was therefore necessary to keep the Mint operational, and that copper supply was a major hurdle as there were few North American copper mines operating at the time. Mint officers had to acquire any scraps they could find, much of it containing impurities that affected the final product.

The 1793 half cents feature a Capped Bust of Liberty facing left, a design that was discontinued after a mintage of 35,334 coins that were all struck in July and September 1793. Three deliveries included a batch of 7,000 pieces on July 20, a second batch of 24,934 coins on July 26, and a final group of 3,400 pieces on September 18, 1793. The two obverse dies and three reverse dies were probably engraved in June and early July before coinage began. Walter Breen speculated in his Half Cent Encyclopedia that David Rittenhouse may have prepared sketches based on the Libertas Americana Medal, and that the engraving was accomplished by Adam Eckfeldt and Robert Birch, with the possible assistance of Joseph Wright. Henry Voight may have been involved as well, but the actual engraver or engravers remains unknown.

Possibly as many as a dozen Mint State examples of the 1793 C-4 half cent survive, but most of those barely make MS60. In our opinion, this spectacular Gem is the second finest known C-4 half cent, trailing only the George Earle example that was part of the Missouri Cabinet and is graded MS66 Brown PCGS. Both sides of this beauty exhibit chocolate-brown surfaces with traces of bluish-steel on the high points of the obverse. The pristine surfaces exhibit lovely cartwheel luster and a few insignificant marks. A trivial corrosion spot is evident tangent to the top of the pole on the obverse, and another small spot is noted above the LF in HALF. The obverse has a seemingly minor lint mark from the edge of the cap to the right border that will serve as an important identifier for pedigree purposes. Our EAC grade MS64.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 2222, Variety PCGS# 35012, Base PCGS# 1000, Greysheet# 80838)

Weight: 6.74 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

View Certification Details from PCGS