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1839 1C Booby Head MS65 Red NGC. N-13, R.2....

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Description

1839 N-13 Cent, MS65 Red
Booby Head

1839 1C Booby Head MS65 Red NGC. N-13, R.2. N-13, R.2. NGC has certified only two 1839 cents as full Red, the present Gem and a solitary MS66. Red and Brown examples are equally rare, with only two Booby Head cents given that color designation by NGC. PCGS has certified two Red Booby Head cents, both graded MS64. Thus, the present coin is the second highest graded full Red Booby Head. The die marriage of the NGC MS66 Red cent is unknown, as it has not appeared at auction.

There are five different design subtypes of 1839 cents. The Plain Cords (N-1) and Head of 1838 (N-2 and N-3) carry over Liberty busts from prior years. The Petite Head (N-8) is the same bust used in 1840. However, the Silly Head and Booby Head were only struck in 1839. The Booby Head is promptly identified by an exposed shoulder corner. The other four 1839 subtypes have a lock of hair around the shoulder tip.

Breen credits Ebenezer Lock Mason, Jr., of Confederate half dollar die fame, as the first numismatist to consistently apply the Silly Head and Booby Head nomenclature. Mason standardized the terms in his June 1868 edition of Coin and Stamp Collector's Magazine. Breen notes that Booby Head was used (with a different meaning) as early as Dickeson's American Numismatic Manual (1859).

The Booby Head Newcomb varieties are among the most difficult to attribute among the middle date cents. N-13 is more readily identified than most, due to a series of spindly die cracks throughout UNITED STATES. That reverse die is also shared with N-15, but a recut lower point on star 12 confirms the N-13 marriage.

This is a gorgeous orange-red Gem. The mint luster is comprehensive and intense. Carbon is surprisingly minimal, and the only hint of toning is a glimpse of steel-blue near star 12. Essentially devoid of marks, and the strike is exemplary. An outstanding type coin that would provide the cornerstone of an advanced large cent collection. Our EAC grade MS60. Census: 1 in 65 Red, 1 finer (3/14).
Ex: Baltimore ANA Signature (Heritage, 7/2008), lot 1511, which realized $29,900.
From The Jim O'Neal Collection of U.S. Type, Part One.(Registry values: P1)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 225Z, PCGS# 1753, Greysheet# 1056)

Weight: 13.48 grams

Metal: 100% Copper

View all of [The Jim O'Neal Collection of U.S. Type, Part One ]

View Certification Details from NGC

Auction Info

2014 April 23 - 27 CSNS US Coin Signature Auction - Chicago #1204 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
April, 2014
23rd-27th Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 17
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,208

Buyer's Premium per Lot:
17.5% of the successful bid per lot.

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Sold on Apr 24, 2014 for: $28,200.00
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