1804 Spiked Chin, B-5, C-7, R.4, MS62 Brown PCGS. Our EAC Grade AU55....

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1804 B-5, C-7 Half Cent, MS62 Brown
Illustrated in Manley

1804 Spiked Chin, B-5, C-7, R.4, MS62 Brown PCGS. Our EAC Grade AU55. Equivalents. Ross 2-C; Gilbert-9; Empire-40; Cohen-7; Breen-5; Bowers-Whitman 3; Eckberg 2a-C.
Rarity. R.4. Current survival estimates fall in the middle of the R.4 range with the Bowers-Whitman Guide Book suggesting that 125 to 175 pieces are known and Eckberg reporting that 150 are known. There was a time that the B-5 was thought to be the rarest of known 1804 die marriages. Ebenezer Gilbert assigned a rating of R.9 on his 10-point scale, the rarest of 11 die varieties known in 1916, reporting the existence of just two specimens.

Obverse 1a is the same physical die as Obverse 1, now damaged. This damaged die appears on Breen-4a, 5, 6, and 7. A prominent, low-relief spike extends from Liberty's chin, providing the popular "Spiked Chin" name of this die, a "tongue" appears between Liberty's lips, and on most examples long and slightly curved die lines are seen in the right field opposite Liberty's neck.

Reverse C appears on Breen-5. There are 16 leaves and five berries in the left branch, and 19 leaves and five berries in the right branch with stems extending both branches past the ribbon ends. The numerator is well below the ribbon knot and close to the short fraction bar. The denominator is wide with the 2 left of the fraction bar that ends over the left curves of the second 0. The outer leaf of the triplet at the upper right is below the left base of the F, diagnostic for this die. Every letter in the legend and in the denomination is separated from other letters. The Ts have defective bases. A long spine extends upward from the leaf point adjacent to the C in CENT.
Edge. Plain.
Surfaces. Full cartwheel luster is evident on both sides of this lovely piece, a condition rarity in the Draped Bust half cent series. The rich steel brown obverse accompanies a reverse of steel and tan with faint blue overtones. A trace of rub and a few trivial marks limit the EAC grade.
Die State. Manley Die State 3.0, an intermediate die state before the rim breaks form over OF A.

Appearances. Illustrated at the PCGS Set Registry record of the McGuigan Collection. This is Ronald Manley's Die State 3.0 reverse plate coin in The Half Cent Die State Book 1793-1857.
PCGS Population (5/2022). Although PCGS has certified 12 Spiked Chin half cents as MS62 Brown and they have certified 32 finer examples, most are the plentiful B-7, C-8 coins. This example and one graded MS63 Brown are the only two Mint State coins that PCGS has attributed as B-5, C-7 half cents.
Commentary. The rarity ratings in Ebenezer Gilbert's 1916 reference are difficult to understand in relation to the current "Sheldon scale" that is commonly used today. Gilbert rated the half cent varieties on a 10-point scale. However, his ratings were inconsistent. For example, he wrote that just two examples of this variety are known and assigned an R.9 rating. He similarly reported two known examples of his 1795 variety 7 (Breen-3) and gave a rating of R.7.
McGuigan Commentary. Choice lustrous brown obverse and iridescent bluish-brown reverse. Reverse is slightly proof-like. Small planchet clip at 5:00. Early die state (M3.0) with light reverse cracks but no rim cuds. Among the two or three finest known examples of the variety.
Provenance. Ex: Sands Investments; John D. Wright (4/1981).
Personality. John D. Wright was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, on June 6, 1939. His fascination of coins began at age 12 and, in the ninth grade, he spoke to his school Civics classes about coins. That prompted a classmate, Mabel Ann Tippin, to ask many questions. A few short years later she answered one question, and they have been married since Thanksgiving Day 1958. Wright served several decades as the treasurer of Early American Coppers beginning in 1971, a position he held until 2008. Mabel Ann served as the club's librarian from 1972 to 2008. Wright is the author of numerous articles that have appeared in Penny-Wise since the earliest issues in the 1960s. He is the author of The Cent Book, a reference on the large cents of 1816 to 1839, published in 1992, and participated in the 1996 Coinage of the Americas Conference. A graduate of Georgia Tech and a Vietnam veteran, Wright served the U.S. Air Force as a KC-135 refueling tanker pilot and is a retired systems programmer for Whirlpool Corporation. At an Indiana coin convention in 1973, Wright enrolled this cataloger in Early American Coppers, serving to this day as a mentor and friend.
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 222G, Variety PCGS# 35164, Base PCGS# 1075, Greysheet# 80883)

Weight: 5.44 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

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