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Photos courtesy of Bowers and Merena
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This coin was last sold at public auction in May 1996 as Lot 490 of the Louis Eliasberg auction conducted by Bowers and Merena. It is the only known of the date and type in mint state preservation. Famous dealer B. Max Mehl stated that this was the most thrilling coin he had handled. The Chapman brothers described it as the finest example known of the rarest U.S. Cent. In 1946, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. paid $2,000 to bring it into his private cabinet of U.S. coins. This famous Liberty Cap design is thought to have been modeled after Dupre's LIBERTAS AMERICANA medal. Engraver Joseph Wright managed to finish the device just weeks before he was sent to his maker. He had caught the dreaded yellow fever. This epidemic caused our first mint to close on more than one occassion. Wright changed Miss Liberty to face to the right unlike the medal which had her facing in the opposite direction. Future engravers Scott, Gardner and others were able to copy this design fairly successfully. Still the "Draped Bust" motif would replace the Liberty Cap on our cent's obverse just a couple of years later in 1796. Total mintage for 1793 Liberty Cap Cents is estimated at 11,056. Chain Cent mintage was 36,103 and Wreath Cents were struck to the tune of 63,353. You can see that our total output during the first year of mint production wasn't setting any world records. This particular coin is an S-13, in accordance with the varieties listed in the standard reference for early Large Cents, Penny Whimsy by Dr. William H. Sheldon. He lists 5 varieties of the 1793 Liberty Cap. An additional NC "not collectible" variety was added due to a discovery in 1978. This corresponds to Walter Breen's notation that 6 varieties of the 1793 Liberty Cap are known to exist. |
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