1846 Braided Hair Cent
Small Date
The Small Date 1846 Braided Hair Proof Cent encompasses the Newcomb-1 to N-10 dies, Newcomb-15, and Newcomb-18 to N-22. This represents 14 different obverse dies. Newcomb-22 is a Proof-only variety and represents no circulation strikes. As the authors of The Guide Book note, some N-1s are considered to be proofs, but a large majority are circulation strikes. The Small Date is seen with much more frequency than the Tall Date variety. Among the Small Date and Tall Date types, we estimate that 15-20 coins are known in Proof condition.
The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the July 2015 Baltimore Auction, where it realized $38,187.