1797 Centered Head, Plain Edge, B-2c, C-2, R.5 -- Stuck over a Talbot, Allum & Lee Cent -- AU55 PCGS. Our EAC Grade AU50....

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1797 B-2c, C-2 Half Cent, AU55
Struck Over a Talbot, Allum & Lee Cent

1797 Centered Head, Plain Edge, B-2c, C-2, R.5 -- Stuck over a Talbot, Allum & Lee Cent -- AU55 PCGS. Our EAC Grade AU50. Equivalents. Proskey 3: 2-B; Ross 3-B; Gilbert-3; Empire-23; Cohen-2; Breen-2c; Bowers Whitman-2; Eckberg 2-A.
Rarity. R.5. Breen rated this sub-variety as R.5 in his Half Cent Encyclopedia and the Bowers-Whitman Guide Book estimates the current population (as of 2015) at 50 to 75 coins.
Obverse 2 is unique to Breen-2. Known as the centered head variety, the date and LIBERTY are close to the border. The E is tall and leans to the right. The long pole ends close to the border that consists of prominent dentils. Breen calls the small projection on the edge of the neck a "wart."
Reverse A appears on Breen-1 and 2. The left branch has 17 leaves and five berries. The right branch has 16 leaves and three berries. Paired berries are below the E in UNITED and the first T in STATES. One outside berry on the right is located below the M in AMERICA. The fraction is closely spaced with the fraction bar nearly joined to the denominator.
Edge. Plain.
Surfaces. Substantial undertype from a Talbot, Allum & Lee token appears at the upper right and lower left obverse, and additional token undertype is visible on the reverse. Scattered handling marks on each side are mixed into the undertype of this lovely olive and chocolate-brown half cent.
Die State. Manley Die State 1.0. This is the usual die state for B-2 with the reverse crack at the lower left as it appears in late die states of 1797 B-1.
Appearances. Illustrated in the September 1985 Superior catalog of the Wyatt Collection.
PCGS Population (3/2022). This coin and four finer submissions are identified as 1797 Plain Edge pieces in the PCGS Population Report, including three pieces attributed as C-2, and two other unattributed coins from the same die pair.
Commentary. The 1983 Breen-Hanson Condition Census records four examples of this sub-variety struck on token stock including one About Uncirculated coin, an Extremely Fine example, and two pieces graded Very Fine. Among all sub-varieties of the 1797 B-2 Centered Head half cents, we have recent auction records of seven appearances graded AU50 or better, representing just three coins graded AU Cleaned, AU50, and MS66 Brown. In our opinion, the present coin from Jim McGuigan's collection is the second finest known B-2c half cent showing Talbot, Allum & Lee undertype.
McGuigan Commentary. Choice glossy medium brown planchet. Struck over a cut down Talbot, Allum & Lee token. Among the three or four finest known examples of the sub-variety. Late die state, the same late die state (M4.0) as on 1797 B-1, with a reverse crack from rim above "I" in UNITED, through tops of UN, and extending down to the border below the "2" of the denominator.
Provenance. Ex: Wyatt Collection (Superior, 9/1985), lot 121.
Personality. The Wyatt Collection was formed by Russell Ansyle and Eudora Bell Wyatt. A graduate of the University of Indiana, Wyatt was born in Linton, Indiana on January 2, 1904 and died at Los Angeles, California on October 10, 1984. He worked in the jewelry trade in San Francisco, and later in Los Angeles, where he was an executive for LeRoy's Jewelers. While employed with LeRoy's, he met and married Eudora Bell who shared his numismatic interest. Eudora was born in 1907, per the Superior catalog offering their collection, or in 1905 per family trees at Ancestry.com.
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 2228, Variety PCGS# 35104, Base PCGS# 1036, Greysheet# 80866)

Weight: 6.74 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

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