The fabulous Twin Leaf Collection offered in our July Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo in Baltimore features an unparalleled assortment of Middle and Late Date U.S. large cents. Complementing this virtually complete assemblage of cents from 1817 to 1857 is a stunning Mint State survivor dating back to the second full year of production at the U.S. Mint, 1794. As part of the equally-impressive Douglas C. Kaselitz Collection, this 1794 Sheldon-29 Draped Bust cent has been graded MS-63 Brown by NGC and certainly lives up to this Choice certification.
Silky chocolate-brown surfaces display delicate golden-violet iridescence on serene underlying surfaces. The obverse design elements are bold, with sharpness to the hair just above Liberty’s ear that is seldom seen on even the most well-rendered of its peers. The overall appearance is superb.
The large cents of 1794 employed several distinct obverse design types over the course of production. The first delivery of 11,000 cents on January 13th featured the Head of 1793, which depicted a softer Liberty with shorter hair. After that production run, a portrait featuring an open "hook" on the lowest curl, deemed the Head of 1794, was employed until the end of December. At that time it was replaced by the low-relief Head of 1795 with a nearly closed lower curl (although one portrait of this style, the Exact Head of 1795, is virtually absent this lower curl). While the Head of 1793 (represented by Sheldon-17, 18, 19 and 20) is the scarcest of these varieties, any 1794 cent is a treasure and they are rarely encountered in grades anywhere approaching Uncirculated.
This old friend previously appeared in our (Bowers and Merena’s) Rarities Sale of August 2004. We are honored to once again offer it at auction. To view selections from the Douglas C. Kaselitz Collection, the Twin Leaf Collection and the other exciting items in our July auction, please visit StacksBowers.com or contact our offices to secure your copy of the catalog.
