1803 B-4, C-4, High R.3, AU58 PCGS. CAC. Our EAC Grade AU50....

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Description

1803 B-4, C-4 Half Cent, AU58
Condition Census

1803 B-4, C-4, High R.3, AU58 PCGS. CAC. Our EAC Grade AU50. Equivalents. Proskey 1: 1-A; Ross 1-A; Gilbert-1; Empire-28; Cohen-4; Breen-4; Bowers-Whitman 3; Eckberg 1-D.
Rarity. High R.3 or perhaps Low R.4. With one exception, every author since 1976 rates this variety as R.3. Eckberg suggests Low R.4 with his estimate of 175 known examples.
Obverse 1 appears on Breen-1, 2, and 4. The date is well-spaced with 03 slightly closer than 180. The serif of the 1 is close to the hair curl and the hair above the curl. The 3 is distant from the drapery and the border, slightly favoring the drapery. The upper left serif shows recutting from a larger 3 that was initially punched in the die. LIBERTY has LI close, IBE wide, and ERTY moderately spaced. The T has vestigial serifs.
Reverse D appears on Breen-4 and reappears as 1805 Reverse B. There are 16 leaves and six berries in the left branch, and 19 leaves and five berries in the right branch. The extra outside berry below the first T in STATES immediately identifies this reverse die. Unlike previous 1803 reverse dies, the Ts are normally formed. The N is missing its inside left foot and inside right serif. The T and A in STATES are extremely close and AME are joined at their bases. The right base of the T in CENT is completely visible and touches the adjacent leaf. The numerator is centered between the long fraction bar and the ribbon knot, and the denominator is widely spaced. In HALF CENT, ALF are joined and the top of the F joins a deformed berry. CEN of CENT are extremely close and step up from left to right.
Edge. Plain.
Surfaces. A lovely chocolate and golden-brown example, this glossy half cent has a few splashes of steel toning and trivial marks only visible with magnification. The reverse die is rotated 180 degrees, having medal-turn alignment rather than the usual coin-turn alignment as often encountered for this die pair.
Die State. Manley Die State 1.0, the only die state that he recorded, always found with clash marks, although those clash marks are not readily apparent on this piece. Walter Breen recorded die states without or with clash marks and noted the clashed die coins are often found with the reverse rotated as on this example.

Appearances. Illustrated at the PCGS Set Registry record of the McGuigan Collection.
PCGS Population (5/2022). Among all four varieties, PCGS has certified 28 submissions of 1803 half cents in AU58 and two of those are AU58+. They have also certified 24 Mint State examples. Among those that are attributed as Cohen-4, PCGS has never certified a Mint State piece and they have examined only one AU58 that is offered here.
Commentary. The 1803 B-4 half cent is a condition rarity that is seldom found in AU or better grades. Ed Fuhrman writes: "Anything above EF you might have to wait a couple of years for one to show up."

We have not seen the Brobston-Helfenstein-California coin that is listed first in the Breen-Hanson Condition Census as the only Mint State example of the variety. The finest known to us is the Showers-Missouri Cabinet coin that PCGS graded Uncirculated details, cleaned. When Superior offered this coin in 2003, the cataloger observed that it is tied for the second finest known. Today, our opinion places this coin from Jim McGuigan's collection as the third finest known.
McGuigan Commentary. Choice lustrous light brown with darker toning on the high points and faded mint red in the protected areas around the devices and lettering. Reverse rotated 180 degrees. Among the half dozen or so finest known examples of this very scarce die variety.
Provenance. Ex: Dr. Wallace Lee (Superior, 5/2003), lot 153; Michael Demling (Stack's Bowers, 8/2013), lot 1432.
Personality. Superior, the California rare coin firm founded by the Goldberg family in the 1930s handled several important copper sales in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including the 1992 Roger S. Cohen, Jr. Collection, the 2002 William "Bill" Weber Collection, and the 2003 Dr. Wallace Lee Collection. Large cent collections include the three-part Ruby Collection, three different sales for Robinson S. Brown, Jr., the Jack H. Robinson Collection, and others.
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 222E, Variety PCGS# 35137, Base PCGS# 1060, Greysheet# 80876)

Weight: 5.44 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

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