Auction Name: 2026 January 8 US Coins Signature Auction - FUN Special Sessions: Ellsworth & Jacobson

Lot Number: 2010

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/1389*2010

1793 1C S-10 R4 Wreath Cent, Vine & Bars Edge, Small LIBERTY, XF45 PCGS. Lightly cleaned and retoned rather glossy reddish chocolate and darker steel brown on the obverse with lighter steel brown on the reverse. The surfaces are smooth and the only marks are some scratches on the obverse. The most notable scratch is a light one through the neck into the field, and it does catch your eye. In addition there are two faint diagonal hairline scratches in the field before the portrait: one before the face and another before the neck. The reverse is virtually void of defects. M-LDS, Breen II early. The border beads before the chin are dull, nearly gone, due to die failure in that area. Otherwise the date and legends are bold. This cataloger's EAC grade is VF35 sharpness net VF25. The attribution and COL Ellsworth Collection provenance are noted on the PCGS Gold Shield label (35462.45/16999816). The reverse of the holder is scuffed.
Ex Bowers & Merena 1/4/2000:17 ($5060)-COL Steven K. Ellsworth.

The Bowers and Merena "Rarities Sale" of January 4, 2000, held in Orlando in conjunction with the FUN Convention, showcased an extraordinary array of scarce and high-grade U.S. coins, anchored by the Charles Colver Collection. The sale opened with colonial and early federal copper, and for copper specialists it featured a remarkable lineup of half cents and large cents. Among the highlights were a deeply pedigreed 1793 Chain AMERI. cent (S-1), AU55 PCGS, plated in early standard references and tied for third finest known; additional Chain and Wreath cents, including multiple S-4 and S-5 varieties; and high-quality early Liberty Caps, such as a 1794 S-66 "Split Pole" cent, VF25 PCGS, among the Condition Census for this rare die marriage. Half cents ranged from 1793 Liberty Caps through the proof-only issues of the 1830s-1850s, including rarities like the 1834 PR66BN half cent, the 1844 PR65RB restrike, and the Eliasberg-pedigreed 1849 Small Date PR66BN half cent.

Later copper issues were equally impressive, with scarce proof large cents from the 1830s-1850s, such as an 1831 PR64BN (N-3) with perhaps a dozen known, three separate proofs of the 1840 N-2 "Blundered Date", and a gem 1856 PR65BN large cent (N-5), a proof-only issue. Indian cents included full red and high-grade rarities, highlighted by a Gem 1866 PR66RD, an 1867 MS65RD, and an astonishing 1896 MS68RD, one of the very finest known of the type. The copper sections of the sale thus balanced early federal die-variety rarities with spectacular later proof and Mint State type pieces, offering opportunities for both specialists and connoisseurs. With pedigrees to Eliasberg, Starr, Pittman, and other famous collections, the 2000 Rarities Sale confirmed Bowers and Merena's role as a premier presenter of landmark copper in a new millennium.
From The COL Steven Ellsworth Collection of U.S. Large Cents 1793-1796.

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