1814 1C S-294 Crosslet 4, BN MS(PCGS#36520)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

2099

等级

AU53BN

价格

17,640

详细说明

The final Classic Head cent, and the last issue of the denomination struck prior to 1816, the 1814 is a product of a wartime United States Mint. Coinage was delayed due to the November 13, 1813 order from Treasurer Thomas T. Tucker that it is "advisable at present to abstain from any further distribution of copper coins" - undoubtedly in response to the economic upheaval of the War of 1812. Production of this denomination did not resume until late September or early October of the following year, and on October 27, 1814 Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt delivered the entire 357,830-piece mintage of this issue to Mint Treasurer Benjamin Rush. The coins were paid out to the Bank of the Pennsylvania on December 26, through which they were distributed into the channels of commerce. This delivery exhausted the Mint's current supply of copper blanks.<p>Only two varieties are known for the 1814 Classic Head cent, and since they employ two different obverse and reverse dies, and also since the Mint's half dollar press could be adapted to strike cents, coinage may have been simultaneous. Survivors are of roughly equal availability, with perhaps a slight edge in scarcity to the Sheldon-294 Crosslet 4 offered here. Both varieties are challenging to locate in the finest circulated and all Mint States grades, as is typical of the Classic Head cent series as a whole. This sharp AU example, with blushes of reddish-rose on the reverse and otherwise dominant tobacco-brown patina, makes a lovely impression in all regards. Minimally marked with only faint traces of pitting in isolated areas, there is much to recommend this coin to high grade type collectors.