1793 B-4, C-4, R.3, MS65 Brown PCGS. Our EAC Grade MS64....

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1793 B-4, C-4 Half Cent, MS65 Brown
The Second Finest Known B-4
From the Parmelee, Brobston, and Gardner Collections

1793 B-4, C-4, R.3, MS65 Brown PCGS. Our EAC Grade MS64. Equivalents. Proskey 3: 2-C; Frossard-1; Crosby 1-B; Ross 2-C; Gilbert-2; Empire-2; Cohen-4; Breen-4; Bowers Whitman-4; Eckberg 2-C.
Rarity. R.3. Between 300 and 400 examples are believed to survive in all grades. This die pair is encountered more often than B-1 or B-2, but less frequently than B-3, although others write that B-4 is the most often encountered die pair. The Empire Guide that was published in 1962 rated this as the rarest 1793 variety.
Obverse 2 appears on Breen 3 and 4. The sharply hooked bust line is nearly vertical above the 93 in the date. The forelock is below LI. LIBERTY is well-spaced with the L low. The Y is close to the cap. The date spacing is wide to narrow from left to right, with 17 wide, 79 close, and 93 still closer at the top. The 3 nearly touches the curl. The pole is extremely close to the upper bust line.
Reverse C is unique to Breen-4. The forked ribbon ends nearly touch the border and the stems have bulbous ends, although not as thick as found on Reverse A. The fraction bar is slightly curved over the widely spaced denominator. The left branch has 13 leaves and nine berry sprays, some that are partially hidden under the leaves. The right branch has 14 leaves and 10 berry sprays. The poorly-spaced legend is distant from the leaves. The letters in HALF CENT are widely spaced and distant from the small center dot that is positioned over the left serif of the N.
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 Gem features a well-centered impression with bold design elements and complete border details that are well in from the edge on both sides, showing a broad outer margin. Both sides display glossy chocolate-brown surfaces with full cartwheel luster and faded mint red. The obverse is prooflike and the reverse is frosty. Trivial rim nicks are noted below the 17 in the date leading to a conservative About Uncirculated grade in the Breen-Hanson Condition Census.
Die State. Breen Die State I; Manley Die State 1.0. There is faint evidence of the defect on top of the 7 in the date.
Appearances. Illustrated at the PCGS Set Registry record of the McGuigan Collection. Plated in Ronald Manley's Half Cent Die State Book as the primary illustration and also for his Die State 1.0. The obverse is plated in the 1890 Parmelee catalog. Illustrated in the Brobston fixed price list, the 1965 Stack's sale of the Gardner Collection, and the October 1990 Stack's catalog.
PCGS Population. PCGS has certified five 1793 half cents of all varieties as MS65 Brown and two finer examples graded MS66 Brown. Those seven coins include one MS65 Brown attributed as Breen-4, and one MS66 Brown of the same variety.
Commentary. The PCGS Coin Facts Condition Census records five Mint State examples of Breen-4, including the Missouri Cabinet MS66 Brown, Jim McGuigan's MS65 Brown offered here, another MS65 Brown that we sold at our FUN Signature auction in January 2018, an MS64 Brown in the High Desert Collection, and an MS63 Brown from the Haig Koshkarian Collection that American Numismatic Rarities sold in March 2004. The Breen-Hanson Condition Census records eight Mint State examples including several that have not been seen since the early 20th century.

This early die state piece was likely one of the 24,934 coins delivered from the Chief Coiner to the Mint Treasurer on July 26, 1793. A final group of 3,400 coins delivered on September 18 were the late die state examples of Breen-4.
McGuigan Commentary. Superb lustrous light brown color. Early die state (M1.0) without the defect at the top of the "7" in the date. Among the half dozen or so finest examples of the variety.
Provenance. Ex: Lorin G. Parmelee (New York Coin & Stamp Co., 6/1890), lot 678; E.W. Ropes (New York Coin & Stamp Co., 12/1893), lot 419; Joseph Brobston (Stack's FPL #69, 1/1963); Eugene H. Gardner (Stack's, 2/1965), lot 1109; J.L. Browning; Raymond Benson (Stack's, 10/1990), lot 1585 as "Cohen-3, Gilbert-2."
Personality. Harlan Page Smith and David Proskey formed the New York Coin & Stamp Company in 1887. Smith provided the capital and Proskey handled the cataloging. The firm handled several important collections from 1888 until Smith died in 1902.
A Vermont native who was born near the town of Wilmington on May 7, 1827, Lorin Gilbert Parmelee entered the bean baking business in Boston. Alternative records place his birth at Chelsea, Massachusetts on May 8, 1827. He began collecting coins from his daily receipts after other collectors asked to look through his coins. Parmelee died at Danvers, Massachusetts on July 22, 1905. Some records may be confused with a different "Loren Parmelee" who was born in Vermont in 1826 and died in Michigan in 1902.
New York City collector Edward W. Ropes was a coffee merchant who was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1853 and died in New York City about 1909. Little else is known of Ropes.
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 2222, Variety PCGS# 35012, Base PCGS# 1000, Greysheet# 80838)

Weight: 6.74 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

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