| Description: |
A simply stunning specimen of our Mint's first coin, one of the finest and most storied
18th-century American copper coins in existence. The fully lustrous light brown obverse
surface glow steel and gold with faded mint color, with the frosty reverse exhibiting a
shade of less faded mint color, golden light brown, with rich olive highlights within the
chain and around the other devices. Traces of mint color remain around the date and within
the hair strands. Full of mint bloom, surfaces spectacular and fresh, details fully
realized and well struck with only a single flat hairlock above the ear, profile angular
and boldly defined, chain on reverse stands out in high relief protected by a significant
reverse rim. Late die state with incused impression of the chain bold at Liberty's neck
(though not bold enough that contemporary users of such coinage would make a connection to
"Liberty in chains" as fancifully concluded by Breen. Heavy flowlines radiate
from central devices (the artifacts that Sheldon called "suction marks" in the
text of Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy when he owned this coin), a few individual
and stray hairlines in the obverse fields (not protected by the same raised rim as
benefits the reverse of this variety), tiny spot inside rim near 4:00 on obverse shows two
tinier flecks in planetary orbit, spot right of T in CENT and minuscule nick above T in
UNITED identify this as the Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy plate specimen for the
Sheldon-3 variety.
While certification figures dictate otherwise through a combination of
resubmissions, inflating populations, and gradual grade inflation, there are only seven
1793 Chain cents of the four collectible varieties that are recognized by the early copper
collecting community as Mint State. Two of these are Sheldon-3s: the present coin and the
Garrett coin, which though the finer of the two has been closely held since the Garrett
sale and is still in a private cabinet. When the text of Penny Whimsy was first written in
the late 1940s (published as Early American Cents in 1949), Dr. William Sheldon owned this
coin and did not know of the coin held in the Evergreen House in Baltimore. He discussed
this coin in the text under his number 3:
"There are not as many of them at the
highest levels of condition as seemed to be the case ten years ago. The
Cleneay-Jackman-Ryder coin, MS-65, still holds top honors, but re-examination of all the
other "good ones" available has failed to confirm the existence of even one
other full MS example."
Indeed, other than the Garrett coin and an MS-60 Sheldon-1
that is now in a private West Coast collection, there are no more Mint State Chain cents
known to collectors today than there were when Sheldon wrote. Of those, the man that
invented the 70-point grading system only ever called two MS-65: this coin and the coin
called "The Coin!," the famous and exceptional Hines-Naftzger Sheldon-4 that was
last marketed at an impressive seven figure sum.
Though tastes change in American
numismatics, the desirability to own a high grade and attractive Chain cent has remained
constant since before the Civil War. Indeed, most collectors find that a well-worn example
is acceptable (if they acquire one at all), and truly advanced cent fanatics are usually
thrilled to have a piece of "just" VF or EF quality. Few collectors can ever
hope to own a Mint State example of this most famous and short lived type of early
American copper cent, let alone a gem with a century-old provenance that includes some of
the best known specialists in the field. When Henry Chapman catalogued this coin in 1918,
he wrote about the "magnificent impression, sharp and even" and called it
"a superb cent." While Chapman would recognize little about the modern
numismatic marketplace, it is ultimately satisfying to know that any cabinet fortunate
enough to provide shelter to this coin would appeal to the tastes of the finest
numismatists of Chapman's—or any—generation. An amazing artifact of early American
coinage, one of the most important coins of this vintage in existence, and a coin which
ranks as one of the most desirable of all those in the grand range of American
numismatics.
NGC Census: 2 Chain cents have been graded as MS-65 BN without
differentiation as to variety, with one Sheldon-3 (the Garrett coin) graded finer, as an
MS-66 RB. "The Coin," the prooflike Sheldon-4, was graded as MS-66 BN. The
finest NGC-graded Sheldon-3 with its attribution actually identified in the census
information is a mere EF-40.
The Chain cent was struck for only a brief time, with all
five die varieties thought to have been coined in March 1793. Elias Boudinot described the
initial cent coinage and identified the author of the dies in 1795, saying "it was
also a considerable time before an engraver could be engaged, during which the chief
coiner was obliged to make the dies himself, and yet the dies are subject to frequent
failure from breaking." Thus, Henry Voigt, the German-born mechanic who was appointed
chief coiner by President Washington (his original appointment still exists), created the
Liberty image that was described as being "in a fright" by the contemporary
press. The chain on the reverse, with 15 links in all, was undoubtedly inspired by its
only federal predecessor: the 1787 Fugio cent with designs after Franklin's devices
created for the 1776 Continental Currency coinage. The press didn't like that either,
apparently unimpressed by its origins in Revolutionary iconography, calling it "a
poor omen for liberty." Only about 36,000 pieces are thought to have been struck
before the design was changed.
Interestingly, Allison W. Jackman owned Condition Census
examples of Sheldon-1, Sheldon-2, and Sheldon-3. The present coin, in that 1918 catalogue,
was called "light olive color and a perfect match for the two preceding." The
other two coins, both considered AU by modern "EAC" style grading and
undoubtedly some Mint State grade in terms of market realities, were the Hain Sheldon-1,
fourth finest known, and the "TAD" Sheldon-2, tied for second finest known. The
Hain coin realized $166,750 in 2002, while the "TAD" coin brought $110,000 in
its 1997 appearance. That Jackman owned all three of these Chain cents (and a Brasher
doubloon) speaks volumes about the quality of his cabinet -- the fact that these two coins
that are nominally AU compared to the "EAC" Mint State stature of the present
coin speaks volumes about the value of this coin in the current market. This coin brought
$120,000 in auction over 23 years ago.An impressive provenance: From the collection of
Joseph Zanoni, a Cincinnati collector and owner of an ice cream shop whose collection was
sold in 1867 by Edward Cogan, apparently privately to fellow Cincinnatian Thomas Cleneay;
S.H. and Henry Chapman's sale of the Thomas Cleneay Collection, December 1890, Lot 1794;
J.F. Anger (a collector who was also a cent buyer in the 1890 Parmelee sale) to Arba
Borden (a name consignor to an 1893 Frossard sale which contained Mint State early cents
but lacked a Chain in this grade); apparently privately to Allison W. Jackman; Henry
Chapman's sale of the Allison W. Jackman Collection, June 1918, Lot 685; to Hillyer Ryder,
whose collection remained intact between his death in 1928 and its sale in 1945; purchased
by Wayte Raymond in May 1945 with the rest of the Ryder collection; sold privately to Dr.
William H. Sheldon in 1947; sold as part of the Sheldon Collection to R.E. "Ted"
Naftzger on April 19, 1972; sold to Stanley Kesselman in March 1980 as partial payment to
Kesselman for the Garrett S-3; Paramount's session of Auction '80, August 1980, Lot 554
for $120,000; Tesoro Numismatics (William A. Asprino, Charles O. Browne, and John P.
Coppola); Heritage's ANA 1998 Sale, August 1998, Lot 5851; to our present consignor. |
