1805 Medium 5, Stemless, B-1, C-1, R.1, MS65 Brown PCGS. CAC. Our EAC Grade MS62....

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Description

1805 B-1, C-1 Half Cent, MS65 Brown
Medium 5, Stemless
Manley Plate Coin

1805 Medium 5, Stemless, B-1, C-1, R.1, MS65 Brown PCGS. CAC. Our EAC Grade MS62. Equivalents. Proskey 1: 1-A; Ross 3-C; Gilbert-1; Empire-44; Cohen-1; Breen-1; Bowers-Whitman 1; Eckberg 3-C.
Rarity. R.1. Breen-1 and B-4 are considered the common 1805 varieties, although the date is clearly scarcer than 1805 or 1806. The Bowers-Whitman Guide Book estimates 1,600 to 1,900 survive and Eckberg suggests that 2,500 remain.

Obverse 1 appears on Breen-1. The serif of the 1 is well below the hair and nearly touches the curl. The 0 and 5 are slightly wider than 180. The top of the diagnostic Medium 5 is recut and close to the drapery. LIB and RTY are close with IB nearly joined. IB are extremely close and the B is slightly high. BER are widely spaced and the R is missing its inside left base.

Reverse A is the die previously described as 1804 Reverse F and also described as 1806 Reverse B. This die appears on 1804 B-10, 11, 1805 B-1, and 1806 B-3. The Stemless Wreath. There are no stem ends and that is diagnostic for this die. The wreath has 16 leaves and six berries in the left branch, and 19 leaves and five berries in the right branch. Only five reverse dies in the Draped Bust series (including multi-year dies) have six berries in the left branch. The numerator is centered between the ribbon knot and the very long fraction bar. The denominator is closely spaced and almost entirely under the bar. The inside right foot of both N's is missing, but the Ts in the legend are perfect. The T in CENT is missing its right base. ME and HA are joined at the base.
Edge. Plain.
Surfaces. Frosty light chocolate-brown surfaces are free of marks and exhibit traces of faded mint red on the reverse. The strike is sharp on this nicely centered piece that has softness only at the borders. Described in 1971 as "Uncirculated, mostly chocolate with iridescent toning."
Die State. Manley Die State 1.0, the earlier of two die recorded die states. A small reverse rim break is evident below the right ribbon.

Appearances. Illustrated at the PCGS Set Registry record of the McGuigan Collection. This is Ronald Manley's primary illustration in The Half Cent Die State Book 1793-1857. Plated in the 1971 Stack's ANA sale catalog.
PCGS Population (5/2022). Although PCGS has certified 35 Mint State 1805 No Stems half cents, only two submissions are graded MS65 Brown, and none are finer. Both of those submissions are attributed.
Commentary. The four die marriages of 1805 half cents represent three distinct types and all are elusive in Mint State grades. Walter Breen's comments from 40 years ago remain true today: "Of its four die combinations, two are rare and extremely difficult to locate above Fine condition; the other two are common enough in low grades, but rare in full mint state."

The Missouri Cabinet-Pogue coin that PCGS grades MS65 Brown and Bob Grellman grades MS62, and this similarly-graded coin from the McGuigan Collection rank high in the census. We have not seen the "unsurpassed flawless gem" that is recorded first in the Breen-Hanson Condition Census.
McGuigan Commentary. Superb lustrous light brown surfaces. Early die state (M1.0) with rim crumbling through a few of the dentils below the right ribbon. Among the half dozen or so finest known examples of this variety.
Provenance. Ex: Numismatic Gallery (5/1945), lot 356; 1971 ANA (Stack's, 8/1971), lot 1; William K. Raymond; Roger S. Cohen, Jr. (3/1980).
Personality. Numismatic Gallery was operated by Abe Kosoff and Abner Kreisberg from 1943 to 1954 with offices in New York City and Beverly Hills, California. The firm offered the Oscar Pearl Collection of large cents by fixed price list in 1944 and the Charles Williams Collection in 1950. John Wright noted that the firm had "an occasional problem or two with slight overgrading and an infrequent misattribution, but nothing rampant."
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 222H, Variety PCGS# 35179, Base PCGS# 1081, Greysheet# 80890)

Weight: 5.44 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

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