Auction Name: 2026 March 26 - 28 US Coins Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 3012

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/1391*3012

1793 1C Chain, AMERICA, S-2, B-2, High R.4, VG10 NGC. Breen Die State II. Smooth chestnut-brown surfaces reveal microgranularity under a loupe, though significant marks are limited to some light rim bumps along the right obverse border and an old scratch between the OF. The legends are clear, only partially beginning to blend with the field, though the date is indistinct. The central portrait and chain are strong for the VG level, and the fraction is bold.

What appears at first glance to be a rim cud appears above the UN in UNITED. There is no evidence of rim/edge damage in the area, so it is not a worn-down rim bump, but neither is it likely a cud. If it were, it would constitute a previously unknown terminal state of the reverse, and it would mean that this piece was struck with a remarriage of the S-2 obverse after the S-4 coinage. If this were the case, the rest of the reverse should be in at least the late S-4 die state, and that is not what we observe with this coin. Even though this piece is well worn and lightly granular, one key feature stands out: the T punches. On the present coin, all T punches appear to have complete, straight tops. Every S-4 coin shows erosion/lapping-induced separation of the T flags from the uprights, which is identifiable even on well worn examples. The current coin shows no indication of separation. This suggests the current coin is in an earlier reverse state than the S-4 population, likely the normal S-2 state, and therefore the reverse artifact cannot be a cud. Instead, the artifact is likely a fin of metal created by the planchet cutter that folded over, or the remnants of pre-striking planchet damage. The inner edge of the artifact is jagged and appears more knife-like than is normal for a true cud. An interesting coin, though not the die state discovery it would appear to be at first glance. Among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins (#21 in 6th edition).

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