1793 B-1, C-1, High R.3, MS64 Brown PCGS. Our EAC Grade MS63....

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1793 B-1, C-1 Half Cent, MS64 Brown
The Second Finest Known B-1
Finest of the Late Die State

1793 B-1, C-1, High R.3, MS64 Brown PCGS. Our EAC Grade MS63. Equivalents. Proskey 1: 1-A; Frossard-3; Crosby-2-C; Ross 1-A; Gilbert-4; Empire-4; Cohen-1; Breen-1; Bowers-Whitman 1; Eckberg 1-A.

Proskey numbers are from his serial article that appeared in J.W. Scott's Coin Collector's Journal, published from 1879 to 1883. Frossard numbers are from Edouard Frossard's Monograph of U.S. Cents and Half Cents that was published in 1879. Crosby numbers for 1793 half cents are from Sylvester Sage Crosby's The United States Coinage of 1793: Cents and Half Cents that the author published in 1897. Ebenezer Gilbert published The United States Half Cents in 1916. Gilbert numbers became the standard for attributing half cents until Roger S. Cohen, Jr. published American Half Cents, the "Little Half Sisters" in 1971. A second edition of Cohen's reference appeared in 1982. The next year saw publication of Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793-1857. In the meantime, Q. David Bowers and James F. Ruddy published United States Half Cents 1793-1857 at Johnson City, New York in 1962. Herein called the Empire Guide for the name of their company at the time, Empire Coin Company. Breen's reference was an exhaustive study of the entire series but the Cohen reference remains the standard that most collectors use today. Q. David Bowers compiled A Guide Book of Half Cents and Large Cents that Whitman published in 2015 with his Bowers-Whitman (BW) numbering system. William R. Eckberg published The Half Cent, 1793-1857, The Story of America's Greatest Little Coin in 2019. Eckberg presents the varieties in his emission sequence that varies from Breen's sequence.

Although not incorporating a different attribution scheme, Ronald P. Manley's The Half Cent Die State Book 1793-1857 is a valuable resource that was published in 1998. Utilizing images from the Missouri Cabinet, Michael A. Demling published United States Half Cents, A Comprehensive Analysis and Attribution Guide of United States Half Cents in 2016. Demling's detailed obverse and reverse die descriptions ease attribution for the circulation-strike half cents. The first two volumes of Ed Fuhrman's The Half Cent Handbook, published in 2020 and 2021, are highly informative. A third volume covering Liberty Cap varieties was published early this year, and Fuhrman is working on a fourth volume covering half cent errors.
Rarity. High Rarity-3. Perhaps 250 to 300 examples survive in all grades. The 1793 Breen-1 is slightly scarcer than any of the other varieties.

The accepted rarity standard in today's numismatic world is the modified "Sheldon Scale." Dr. Sheldon published his rarity scale in the 1949 version of his early cent reference, and that scale is now modified with the addition of low (-) and high (+) divisions. The rating of R.3 was originally a range of 200 to 500 surviving coins. That range is divided into thirds today. High R.3 means 201 to 300 coins, R.3 is 301 to 400 coins, and Low R.3 is 401 to 500 coins.

Obverse 1 appears on Breen-1 and 2. The smoothly curved bust line sweeps high over the date. The forelock is below IB in LIBERTY. LI are distant, B is high, ER are close, and TY are low. The Y is distant from the cap. In the date, 93 are slightly closer than 179. The 3 is distant from the curl. The pole is more than twice its thickness from the upper bust line.

Reverse A is unique to Breen-1. The forked ribbons and stems are widely spaced, the latter having thick, bulbous ends, that on the left joining the U. There are 16 leaves on each branch, although only 15 leaves are apparent on the left branch. Two leaves inside the branch at the top of the H in HALF appear as a single leaf. There are ten berry sprays in each branch. The fraction has a straight, thin bar, and closely spaced denominator with the 2 high. The legend is poorly placed in the die, and a period follows AMERICA. The letters in HALF CENT are from smaller punches than the legend, and they are shallow, often invisible on lower grade coins.

Edge. Lettered TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR with two leaves positioned end-to-end. A single edge device appears on all 1793 half cents and is different than the later lettered edge devices of 1794, 1795, and 1797.

Surfaces. This breathtaking Choice Mint State half cent has rich chocolate-brown obverse surfaces with tan and hints of faded red on the reverse. Both sides are well centered with full border beading and ample outer margins.

Die State. Breen Die State IV; Manley Die State 3.0. This is the rare late die state with a rim break over F AME. These late die states are highly collectible among specialists and this example is the finest late die state known to us. The irregularities in the left obverse field along Liberty's profile are surface anomalies due to the die state. Those same die irregularities appear on all die states of Breen-2 that share the same obverse die, establishing the emission sequence.

Appearances. Illustrated at the PCGS Set Registry record of the McGuigan Collection. This coin is illustrated in Ronald Manley's The Half Cent Die State Book 1793-1857 for his Die State 3.0.

PCGS Population (1/2022). PCGS has certified 29 1793 half cents in MS60 or finer grades. The population, for all four varieties, includes four examples certified MS64 Brown, one in MS64+ Brown, and seven finer pieces. This example is the only attributed Breen-1 in MS64 Brown with one finer attributed coin.

Commentary. The first United States half cents were coined at the Philadelphia Mint in July 1793. Half cent deliveries from the Chief Coiner to the Mint Treasurer occurred on July 20 (7,000 pieces), July 26 (24,934), and September 18 (3,400). Total mintage was 35,334 coins. Examining die states of the four known varieties shows that the present Breen-1 was the first variety minted, and therefore the first United States half cent. William Eckberg suggests that these coins were struck on July 19, the day before that first delivery. He writes: "On higher grade specimens, roughness can be seen to develop in the obverse fields; this has been called die rust in the past, but since the variety was struck in a single day, it must be due to mechanical spalling."

Jon Hanson's Condition Census published in Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793-1857 records just two Uncirculated examples of this first half cent. Since then, a few others have been discovered, including this coin that was found in England the year after Breen's reference was published. The Missouri Cabinet sold in 2014 included a marginally finer example of B-1 that Bob Grellman grades MS63+. However, that piece is an early die state unlike the present example that is clearly the finest example of the late die state. For comparison, the late die state in the Missouri Cabinet grades VF35 PCGS and the Partrick Collection late die state coin that we sold in 2020 grades VF20 NGC. The finest late state coin recorded in the Breen-Hanson Condition Census grades About Uncirculated.

McGuigan Commentary. Superb lustrous medium brown surfaces. Finest known example of the die state and among the three or four finest known specimens of the variety. Late die state (M3.0) with a reverse rim cud at the border beads over "F AME" in OF AMERICA and extensive die rust in the left obverse field.

Provenance. Ex: Knightsbridge Coins (London, England, 7/1984).

Personality. Stephen Fenton founded Knightsbridge Coins (Knightsbridgecoins.com) in 1975 after starting to deal in coins in 1966. The company retains its name from the original business location in London's Knightsbridge district. Fenton's business continues to operate at the St. James location established in 1980. An auction division, St. James Auctions, began operation in 2004.
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 2222, Variety PCGS# 35003, Base PCGS# 1000, Greysheet# 80835)

Weight: 6.74 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

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