Lot 309
1799 Draped Bust Cent. . S-189, R2+. PCGS graded VF-25. Glossy chocolate and medium brown with small splashes of darker olive toning on both sides, especially on the obverse. There is some microscopic roughness on the eye but the remainder of the planchet is smooth, void of corrosion or verdigris. The only notable signs of contact are a light horizontal nick on the cheek under the eye, a vertical one in the field before the eye, and a deeper nick at the left top of the E in STATES. Intermediate die state, Breen state III, with some crumbling in the dentils at OF-AM. The shallow lump under the E in CENT is visible. The date is clear although the bottom of the digits fade into the rim below while LIBERTY is bold, as usual for the variety thanks to the dies being out of perfect parallel alignment. The reverse is rotated 30 degrees CCW from a normal head-to-foot orientation. Not perfect but still an above average example of this tough date, the toughest of all our cents from 1793 to the present. EAC grade VF20. The Hesselgesser provenance is noted on the PCGS label. Pop 18 in all grades of VF; 1 in EF-40, 1 in AU-50, 1 in AU-55.
Estimated Value $12,500 - 25,000.
Ex Dr. Hesselgesser.
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| Realized $25,300 |
