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Finest 1798 S-154 By Wide Margin
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1798 S-154 R4+ Large 8, Style I Hair. PCGS graded MS-64 Brown.
Beautiful uni-
form frosty light chocolate brown. Satiny mint luster covers the fields and protected
areas, especially on the reverse, and this cent offers outstanding eye appeal. No spots
or stains. The only marks are a thin vertical nick in the field before the neck, a very
dull nick or short scuff at the dentils just left of the lowest curl, and a couple similar
but barely visible marks at the top of the A in STATES. A speck of wax or plastic
debris is caught between the slab and the curl on the neck, but it does not appear to
be affecting the coin in any way. EDS, Breen state I, before any swelling in the field
before the portrait. The reverse displays obvious swelling at TED in UNITED and
sharp die clashmarks. The obverse is misaligned to K-12.5 creating very long dentils
under the date, which is typical of this variety. Both sides of this cent are plated in
Early American Cents
and the 1991 Noyes reference, and the reverse is illustrated in
Penny Whimsy
. Graded MS62 and CC#1 by 22 points in the Noyes census, his photo
#21220. Bland says MS60 and finest known by 15 points.
Our grade is MS62
. This is
the finest example of the Large 8 with Style I Hair type, regardless of variety, outside
the ANS. A prize for anyone trying to assemble the finest registry set of large cents by
“Redbook” type. The attribution and Naftzger-Reynolds provenance are noted on the
PCGS Secure label.
Pop 1; none finer at PCGS for the variety
(PCGS # 36032)
Estimated Value ........................................................................................... $25,000-UP
Ex Elmer Sears (who discovered it in England), Thomas L. Elder 9/21/1935:1674 (listed
in that catalog as having the “surface of a bronze proof ”)-Henry C. Hines-Dr. William
H. Sheldon 4/19/1972-R. E. Naftzger, Jr., 2/23/1992-Eric Streiner 1992 (includes the
Elder lot description cut from the catalog and Naftzger collection envelope).