1794 High Relief Head, B-9, C-9, R.2, MS66 Brown PCGS. CAC. Our EAC Grade MS65....

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1794 B-9, C-9 Half Cent, MS66 Brown
Tied for the Third Finest 1794 at PCGS

1794 High Relief Head, B-9, C-9, R.2, MS66 Brown PCGS. CAC. Our EAC Grade MS65. Equivalents. Maris Third; Proskey 1: 1-A; Frossard-1; Ross 6-B; Gilbert-1; Empire-5; Cohen-9; Breen-9; Bowers Whitman-9; Eckberg 5-B.
Rarity. R.2. This variety is slightly scarcer than B-6, C-4, with a surviving population estimated at 750 to 800 coins in all grades. The rating of R.2 is unchanged since the 1962 publication of the Empire Guide.
Obverse 5 appears on Breen-7, 8, and 9. This is the High Relief head from a new device punch. The date is high in the field and the top of the 4 is closer to the bust than on any other obverse. On worn specimens, the 4 appears to touch the bust. The pole joins the neck and its end is clearly separated from the border. The prominent should loop is over the 1 and 7, and has a different shape than the other obverse dies. A prominent center dot is position in the hair left of the ear lobe.
Reverse B appears on Breen-2 and 9. Each branch has 15 leaves on this Heavy Wreath reverse die. The left branch has five berries and the right branch has four berries, although Breen states that a fifth berry is mostly buried in a leaf below the first A in AMERICA. The fraction has the numerator touching the left ribbon end and the denominator level with the 20 close and the 00 distant. The left stem end is nearly twice the length of the right stem end. Top of the D is recut. The final S leans sharply to the right and the T in CENT leans to the left.
Edge. Lettered TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR with a single leaf. Two edge devices used in 1794 are distinguished by the letter size. The Small Edge Letters device has narrow, deep, and widely spaced letters.
Surfaces. This pristine Premium Gem half cent is amazing with a high degree of aesthetic appeal. Both sides are nearly flawless chocolate-brown with splashes of mint red around the devices and other design elements.
Die State. Manley Die State 2.0. The crack from the obverse border to the cap is light, with a crack joining the tops of IBERTY. The reverse die is perfect.
Appearances. Illustrated at the PCGS Set Registry record of the McGuigan Collection. This is Ronald Manley's primary illustration and his Die State 2.0 plate coin in The Half Cent Die State Book.
PCGS Population (3/2022). The finest 1794 half cents that PCGS has examined include three coins graded MS66 Brown. Two of those are included in the present collection. They have also certified one MS66 Red and Brown and one MS67 Red and Brown.
Commentary. Perhaps a dozen Mint State 1794 B-9 half cents are known, including 11 examples that were recorded in the Breen-Hanson Condition Census in 1983. This Jim McGuigan Collection coin is among those pieces. The finest known to us is the MS66 Red and Brown PCGS example from the St. Oswald, Foxfire, and Pogue Collections that Stack's Bowers sold in 2016. The Missouri Cabinet MS65 Red and Brown example and the Partrick MS64 Red and Brown coin are other top examples. It is our opinion that the McGuigan coin is the second or third finest 1794 C-9 half cent. Frank Wilkinson, a long-time observer of the half cent scene who provided the cataloger with his thoughts, considers this piece to be equal to the finest known.
McGuigan Commentary. Superb medium brown with original mint red in the protected areas around the devices and lettering on the obverse and reverse. Intermediate die state (M2.0) with a crack from the rim near 9:30 through the cap to the hair and a crack through the tops of "IBERTY" of LIBERTY. Among the half dozen finest known examples of the variety.
Provenance. Ex: John Freet; John Foreman (1/1982). Possibly Ex: Thomas L. Elder (5/1923), lot 2310.
Personality. An early American Numismatic Association member (number 140), Thomas Lindsay Elder was born at Dayton, Pennsylvania on November 22, 1874 and died in South Carolina on May 11, 1949. He attended Beaver College in Pennsylvania, followed by a move to Buffalo, New York. While in his 20s, Elder served the government in 1901 as a telegrapher assigned to the home of President William McKinley, who was dying from a gunshot wound. He also served in the New York State Militia as a sergeant during World War I. His interest in coins began at the age of 13, and he began his professional numismatic career as a coin dealer and auctioneer in 1905. In addition to nearly 300 coin auctions held over the next 35 years, Elder contributed to The Numismatist, published The Elder Monthly, The Numismatic Philistine, The Elder Magazine, updated the Hays-Frossard variety reference on 1794 large cents, and assisted Ebenezer Gilbert in a variety reference on 1796 large cents. He also issued numerous medalets and store cards. Lapp and Silberman described Elder as "the grand old man of numismatics."
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 2223, Variety PCGS# 35063, Base PCGS# 35054, Greysheet# 80853)

Weight: 6.74 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

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