Historical rarity: 1792 Silver Center cent offered along with 4,800+ coins Aug. 5, 7 and 9 in Chicago…
An historically important 1792 Silver Center cent – the first coin actually produced inside the walls of the First United States Mint – of early US coinage will be featured in Platinum Night of Heritage’s upcoming Aug. 5, 7 & 9 American Numismatic Association U.S. Coins Signature® Auction at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Chicago. The U.S. Coins Platinum Night, set for Aug. 7, is one of an unprecedented three Platinum Night events to include World & Ancient Coins and Currency Heritage will be holding in conjunction with this convention.
The Collection of Oliver Jung is the source of many of the outstanding 18th century offerings in this auction, including the 1792 Silver Center cent, graded MS64 Brown by PCGS, the second finest known of just over a dozen examples. The silver center cent was an early attempt at bimetallic coinage, with a silver plug inserted into a copper planchet in order both to give the coin the proper intrinsic value and to bring the coin down to a usable size. This example has a pedigree dating back to the 19th century, including the famed Norweb collection.
A rare 1797 Draped Bust half dollar with Small Eagle reverse is the finest CAC-endorsed 1796-1797 half known to exist. Mint records show this coinage series was minted from silver bullion deposited by the Bank of the United States, deposits that are chiefly responsible for the coin’s original mintage in the first place. The coin’s peculiar low mintage – and subsequent collector demand – has been attributed to a greater demand for dollars at the time to a bout of yellow fever, which closed the mint for four months in late 1797.
The 1792 half disme is well known as the first circulating American coin to be struck under authority of the Mint Act of April 1792. Although not actually struck in the Mint, it is eagerly sought by collectors of federal coinage. One specimen strike is known, and it is being offered in this auction, also from The Collection of Oliver Jung. Graded Specimen-67 by PCGS, it is the second-highest numerically graded example of this issue, with its status as a specimen only adding to its desirability.
Another early Specimen strike offered in this auction is the Stickney-Clapp-Eliasberg 1796 quarter, graded Specimen 66 by PCGS. 1796 quarters, as a one year type, as the only quarter issued in the 18th century, and with a mintage of just over 6,000 pieces, are heavily in demand from collectors regardless of grade. This coin’s appeal to serious numismatists is so great that it has only belonged to four collectors in the last 167 years.
An 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle depicts a rare one-year type by Anthony C. Paquet, who redesigned the reverse of the Liberty double eagle for use on 1861-dated coinage. Dies were sent to the branch mints but the reverse proved to be unworkable for circulating coinage for technical reasons, and the branches were instructed to destroy the dies with the design. San Francisco minted a number of Paquet reverse double eagles, but only two examples minted in Philadelphia are known to exist, making this the fourth rarest US coin behind three unique issues. This coin is certified MS61 by PCGS and is an opportunity for the double eagle specialist to acquire a coin that may not be offered again for many years.
Additional historical rarities offered in these auctions include:
1793 1C Chain, AMERICA, S-2, B-2, High R.4, MS64 Brown PCGS Secure, the finest graded by PCGS.
1793 S-9 Wreath Cent, MS66+ Brown, an amazing specimen and the finest S-9 cent known to exist.
1793 S-13, B-20 Cent, AU55, one of just 300 surviving 1793 Liberty Cap cents in all grades.
1856-O Double Eagle, AU53, a spectacular New Orleans rarity among the finer-known examples.
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