Large Cents 1794 S-45 R5+ MS62 Brown PCGS. Frosty steel

Large Cents
1794 S-45 R5+ MS62 Brown PCGS. Frosty steel brown and light chocolate. The surfaces are satiny and this cent has superb eye appeal. Looks mint state but there is a light touch of friction on the very highest points of the hair. Nearly flawless; a thin nick near the dentils right of the Y in LIBERTY and a dull contact mark at the dentil tips left of that Y are the only contact marks. M-LDS, Heck die state 3, Breen state II, with a clear die crack from the dentils through IC in AMERICA to the leaf below and weakly to the right wreath stem. This cent is plated in the 1910 Elder-Gilbert reference on the cents of 1794, in the 1923 Chapman reference on the cents of 1794, in Dr. Sheldon's Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy, and the obverse is plated in Tom Morley's 1979 grading guide for 1794 cents where this coin is used to illustrate the AU55 grade. Noyes says AU50 Choice and CC#2 by a 20-point margin over the next finest piece in his census, photo #31880. Bland says AU50 and CC#2 by 15 points over the next finest example. This cataloger's EAC grade is AU55. A wonderful cent that comes with a great provenance that has been traced back nearly a century and a half. The attribution and Doug Bird Collection provenance are noted on the PCGS Gold Shield label. PCGS population 1; none finer. 35600.62/37592637.
Ex Charles I. Bushnell-Lorin G. Parmelee, S. H. & H. Chapman 6/20/1882:2622-Lorin G. Parmelee, New York Coin & Stamp Co., 6/25/1890:692-James B. Wilson, Thomas L. Elder 10/5/1908:991-Ebenezer Gilbert, Thomas L. Elder 10/12/1910:47-H. O. Granberg-William H. Woodin, The United States Coin Co., 5/19/1915:133-Henry C. Hines-Dr. William H. Sheldon-Dorothy I. Paschal-John W. Adams, Bowers & Ruddy Galleries 1982 FPL, lot 39-Del Bland 3/15/1985-Bertram M. Cohen-Dr. George E. Ewing, Jr.-Darwin B. Palmer, Jr., 4/1995-Douglas F. Bird Collection, Goldbergs 2/16/2020:15-Walter J. Husak Collection.

Charles I. Bushnell was a New York lawyer who had a particular interest in Colonial coinage. He was born in New York City and died there on September 17, 1880. Some sources state that he was born in 1826, while others claim he died in 1880 at the age of 70. Bushnell is described as an extremely secretive man. He was the author of two booklets about trade tokens, political tokens, and election medals, published in the late 1850s. His collection was purchased intact by Lorin Parmelee for about $8,000. After Parmelee picked out pieces for his own collection, the remainder was sold by the Chapman brothers in June 1882, establishing the young duo as important numismatic auctioneers.
From The Collections of Walter J. Husak and The Liberty Cap Foundation.

https://coins.ha.com/itm/large-cents/1794-s-45-r5-ms62-brown-pcgs/a/1370-2039.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-USCoins-1370-01042024

HID02906262019

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