2016-12-14 Wed

On 3rd November, Part III of The Twin Leaf Collection of the United States Large Cents was offered by Stack's Bowers Galleries at Baltimore Expo auctions. An 1835 Coronet Cent of the Small 8, Small Stars variety, Newcomb 11, graded Extremely Fine 40 was sold for $3,525. Large cents were issued for circulation in 1793 with three design types. No 1815-dated cents were struck until 1816. Coronet cents dated between 1816 and 1839 are called Middle Date” while those from 1840 to 1857 are known as “Late Date.”

Many collectors like researching about large cents and they study the die states within these varieties to track how dies change over time. The coin sold at the auction was one of the finest known examples.

A crack through the bases of the inscription 1835 between the digits 3 and 5 indicates the Die State - B/B (as recorded by Bill Noyes). The surfaces are light olive brown in colour with faint ridges on the obverse and sharper ones on the reverse. Overall, the surface is smooth and glossy.