ArtHitParade
ArtHitParade on Twitter
  • Home
    • Contact
  • Calendar
  • Top 10
    • Origin
    • From 600 BCE to CE
    • Years 1 to 1000
    • Years 1000 to 1300
    • 14th Century
    • 15th Century >
      • Years 1400-1429
      • Years 1430-1459
      • Years 1460-1479
      • Years 1480-1499
    • 16th Century >
      • Years 1500-1519
      • Decade 1520-1529
      • Decade 1530-1539
      • Years 1540-1569
      • Years 1570-1599
    • 17th Century >
      • Decade 1600-1609
      • Decade 1610-1619
      • Decade 1620-1629
      • Decade 1630-1639
      • Decade 1640-1649
      • Decade 1650-1659
      • Years 1660-1679
      • Years 1680-1699
    • 18th Century >
      • Decade 1700-1709
      • Decade 1710-1719
      • Decade 1720-1729
      • Decade 1730-1739
      • Decade 1740-1749
      • Decade 1750-1759
      • Decade 1760-1769
      • Decade 1770-1779 >
        • 1776
      • Decade 1780-1789
      • Decade 1790-1799 >
        • 1792
    • 19th Century >
      • Decade 1800-1809
      • Decade 1810-1819
      • Decade 1820-1829
      • Decade 1830-1839
      • Decade 1840-1849
      • Decade 1850-1859
      • Decade 1860-1869
      • Decade 1870-1879
      • Decade 1880-1889 >
        • 1887
        • 1888
        • 1889
      • Decade 1890-1899 >
        • 1890
        • 1892
        • 1896
    • 20th Century >
      • Decade 1900-1909 >
        • 1903
        • 1904
        • 1905
        • 1907
        • 1908
        • 1909
      • Decade 1910-1919 >
        • 1911
        • 1912
        • 1913
        • 1914
        • 1915
        • 1916
        • 1917
        • 1918
        • 1919
      • Decade 1920-1929 >
        • 1920
        • 1921
        • 1923
        • 1924
        • 1925
        • 1926
        • 1927
        • 1928
        • 1929
      • Decade 1930-1939 >
        • 1930
        • 1931
        • 1932
        • 1933
        • 1934
        • 1935
        • 1936
        • 1937
        • 1938
        • 1939
      • Decade 1940-1949 >
        • 1941
        • 1942
        • 1945
        • 1946
        • 1947
        • 1948
        • 1949
      • Decade 1950-1959 >
        • 1950
        • 1951
        • 1952
        • 1953
        • 1954
        • 1955
        • 1956
        • 1957
        • 1958
        • 1959
      • Decade 1960-1969 >
        • 1960
        • 1961
        • 1962
        • 1963
        • 1964
        • 1965
        • 1966
        • 1967
        • 1968
        • 1969
      • Decade 1970-1979 >
        • 1970
        • 1971
        • 1972
        • 1974
        • 1975
        • 1976
        • 1977
        • 1978
        • 1979
      • Decade 1980-1989 >
        • 1980
        • 1981
        • 1982
        • 1983
        • 1984
        • 1985
        • 1986
        • 1987
        • 1988
      • Decade 1990-1999 >
        • 1990
        • 1991
        • 1992
        • 1993
        • 1994
        • 1995
        • 1996
        • 1997
        • 1998
        • 1999
    • 21st Century >
      • Decade 2000-2009 >
        • 2000
        • 2001
        • 2002
        • 2003
        • 2006
        • 2007
        • 2008
      • Decade 2010-2019 >
        • 2017
      • 2020 to now
  • Current Art
  • Renaissance
  • Painting
    • Ancient Painting >
      • Oil on Copper
    • 18th Century Painting
  • Ancient Drawing
  • Art on Paper
  • Sculpture
    • Bust
    • Ancient Sculpture >
      • Roman Sculpture
    • Italian Sculpture
    • French Sculpture
    • Sculpture by Painters
  • Women Artists
    • Ancient Art by Women
    • Art by Women ca 1960
    • Current Art by Women
    • Martin
  • Furniture
    • Chairs and Seats
    • Colonial Furniture
    • Ancient French Furniture
    • 18th Century Furniture
    • Modern Furniture >
      • Art Deco
    • Modern Tables
  • Prints
    • Ancient Prints
    • Modern Prints
  • Photo
    • Old Photos >
      • Travel Photos
      • Early French Photo
    • Photos 1900-1940 >
      • Photos in the 1920s
    • Photos 1970s 1980s
    • Sherman
    • Gursky
  • The Man
  • The Woman
  • Children
  • Man and Woman
  • Groups
  • Self Portrait
    • Self Portrait 2nd page
  • Nude
  • Abstract Art
    • Abstract Art - 2nd page
  • Landscape
    • Midi
    • Alps
    • Mountains in China
  • Cities
    • Venice
    • Paris
    • Los Angeles
  • Flowers
    • Bouquet
  • Animals
    • Bird
    • Cats
    • Horse
  • Dragon
  • Tabletop
  • Early Still Life
  • Music and Dance in Art
    • Music in Old Painting
  • Sport in Art
  • Orientalism
    • Orientalism 1830-1900
  • France
    • Louis XV and XVI
    • Revolution and Empire
    • Louis XVIII to 2nd Empire
    • Ancient French Painting
    • Degas
    • Cézanne
    • Monet >
      • Monet before 1878
      • From Vétheuil to Giverny
      • Pond by Monet
    • Renoir
    • Gauguin
    • Lautrec
    • Matisse
    • Klein
    • Lalanne
    • Post War French Art
  • Italy
    • Italian Painting 1280-1700
    • Canaletto
    • Modigliani
    • Fontana
    • Italy 2nd page
  • Swiss Painting before 1940
    • Hodler
  • Giacometti
    • Giacometti 1947-53
  • Bacon
    • Bacon before 1963
    • Bacon 1963-70
    • Later Bacons
  • UK - 2nd page
    • Ancient England
    • George I to III
    • George IV to Victoria
    • British Royals
    • Turner >
      • Watercolor by Turner
    • Freud
    • Hockney
    • Doig
    • Hirst
    • Banksy
  • Germany
    • Ancient Germany
    • Richter >
      • Richter before 1983
    • Germany - 2nd page
  • Rembrandt
  • Van Gogh
  • De Kooning
  • Holland 2nd page
  • Old Flanders and Belgium
    • Flemish Art >
      • Rubens
    • Magritte
    • Tintin
    • Belgium 2nd page
  • Picasso
    • Picasso before 1907
    • Picasso 1907-1931
    • 1932 Picasso
    • Picasso later 1930s
    • Picasso 1940-1960
    • Picasso in Mougins
    • Prints by Picasso
  • Spain - 2nd page
    • Ancient Spain
    • Miro
    • Spain 3rd page
  • Klimt
  • Austria 2nd page
  • USA
    • US Independence
    • Development of USA
    • US Civil War
    • Wild West
    • US Painting before 1940
    • Rockwell
    • Calder
    • Rothko >
      • Early Rothko
      • Rothko 1957-70
    • Still
    • Pollock
    • Lichtenstein >
      • Lichtenstein after 1965
    • Warhol >
      • USA by Warhol
      • Celebrities by Warhol
      • Later Warhols
      • Prints by Warhol
    • Twombly
    • Prince
    • Koons
    • Wool
    • Basquiat
    • USA 2nd page
  • Central and South Americas
  • China
    • Archaic China >
      • Ritual Bronzes
    • Northern Song
    • Southern Song and Yuan
    • Early Ming
    • Later Ming
    • Early Qing
    • Qianlong
    • Modern China >
      • Zhang Daqian
      • Sanyu
      • Zao Wou-Ki
    • New Chinese Painting
    • Chinese Porcelain >
      • Song to Yuan Porcelain
      • Ming Porcelain
      • Qing Porcelain
    • Chinese Art
    • Chinese Calligraphy
    • Chinese Furniture
    • Jade
  • India
    • Tibet and Nepal
    • Modern India >
      • Gaitonde
  • Persia
    • Safavid Carpets
  • Yoshitomo Nara
  • Russia
    • Russia 1700-1900
    • Kandinsky
  • Eastern Europe
    • Chagall
  • Northern Europe
    • Prints by Munch
  • Egypt
  • Tropical Africa
    • Congo
    • Gabon
    • Mask
  • Tribal Oceania
    • Easter Island
  • Australia
    • Colonial Australia
  • Islam
  • Buddhism
    • Early Buddhist Sculpture
  • Judaica
  • Christianity
    • Madonna and Child
  • Cars
    • Birth of Automobile
    • Cars of the 1910s
    • Cars of the 1920s
    • Cars of the 1930s >
      • Cars 1930-33
      • Cars 1934-35
      • Cars 1936-37
      • Cars 1938-39
    • Post War Cars >
      • Cars 1940-50
      • Cars 1951-53
      • Cars 1954-55
      • Cars 1956-57
      • Cars 1958-59
    • Cars of the 1960s >
      • Cars 1960-61
      • Cars 1962-64
      • Cars 1965-67
    • Cars 1970s 1980s
    • Supercars
    • Hypercars
    • Ferrari >
      • Early Ferrari
      • From LWB to GTO >
        • California Spider
      • Ferrari after 1962
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Porsche
    • British Cars >
      • Aston Martin
      • Jaguar
      • McLaren
    • Bugatti
    • French Cars
    • Duesenberg
    • Ford and Shelby
    • Cars - 2nd page
  • Motorcycles
  • Jewels
    • White Diamond
    • Pink Diamond
    • Blue Diamond
    • African Diamonds
    • Jewels - 2nd page
    • Cartier
  • Silverware
    • Old Silverware
  • Coin
    • Gold Coins
    • Silver Coins
    • Antique Coins
    • Coins 1000-1775
    • Coins 1776-92
    • Coins 1793-99
    • Coins 1800-49
    • Coins 1850-69
    • Coins 1870-99
    • 20th century Coins
    • British Coins
    • Dollars and Eagles
    • Japanese Coins
    • Chinese Coins
  • Paper Currency
  • Medal and Decoration
  • Time Pieces
    • Clocks >
      • Old Clocks
    • Mechanical Craft ca 1800 >
      • Jaquet-Droz and Followers
    • Modern Watches
    • New Watches >
      • OnlyWatch
    • Patek Philippe >
      • Patek Philippe before 1950
      • World Time
      • Perpetual Calendar
    • Rolex
    • Watches 2nd page
    • English Time Pieces
    • French Time Pieces
  • Glass and Crystal
    • Glass before 1900
    • Tiffany Studios
  • From Terracotta to Porcelain
    • Meissen
  • Textiles
  • Garment
  • Fashion
  • Books
    • Incunabula
    • 16th Century Books
    • 17th Century Books
    • Fine Books 1700-1850
  • Literature
    • Literature in English
    • Literature in French
  • Poems and Lyrics
  • Autograph
  • Manuscript
    • Illuminated Christian Manuscript
  • Religious Texts
  • Political Writing
  • Comic Books
  • Illustrators
  • Travel
  • Space
  • Maps
  • Cars in Movies
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Musical Instrument
    • Violin
    • Guitar
    • Musical Instrument 2nd page
  • Pop Music
    • The Beatles
  • Poster
  • Sport
    • Sport Equipment
    • Sport Uniform
    • Sport Document
    • Sport Rewards and Medals
    • T206 Wagner
    • Sport Images before 1950
    • Sport Cards 1950-80
    • Modern Sport Cards
    • Baseball >
      • Baseball Bat
      • Babe Ruth
      • Lou Gehrig
    • Basketball >
      • Jordan
    • Ice Hockey
    • Sport 2nd page
    • Olympic Games
  • Origins of Sports
  • Historical Arms
    • Blade and Armour
    • Colt 1836-62
    • Later Colts
    • Winchester
    • Firearms - 2nd page
  • Toys
  • Doll
  • Games
  • Stamps
    • World Stamps
    • US Stamps
    • Inverted Jenny
  • Inventions
  • Instrument and Equipment
  • Sciences
    • Ancient Science
    • Sciences 1600-1800
    • Sciences from 1800
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Medicine
    • Dinosaur
  • Computing
  • Nobel Medals
  • Whisky
    • Whisky 2nd page
  • Wine
  • Plus
    • Plus 1880s
    • Plus 1962-64
    • Plus 1982 Basquiat

Coins 1776-1792

Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Coin  Gold coins  Development of USA
Chronology : 1780-1789  1792
Coins 1000-1775

1786 Lima Type Brasher Doubloon
2021 SOLD for $ 2.1M by Heritage

Ten years after independence, no federal currency has yet been created in the United States. Spanish, English and Portuguese currencies remain in use. The Nova Constellatio project of 1783 was stopped after trials in copper and silver.

Larger foreign gold coins tempt counterfeiters. Based in New York, Ephraim Brasher is an assayer, who marks with his EB punch the coins for which he guarantees the conformity. He will try to develop the production of US coins.

The standard of gold currency is the Spanish 8 escudo coin, also named a doubloon, made in Lima. Two varieties of Brasher doubloons are known, the Lima type and the New York type. Tiny wear from the EB punch on the New York type ensures that the best Lima type unit was anterior.

The Lima type was not designed to circulate. It is a close copy of the 8 escudos of 1742, with the same inscriptions. Brasher added his full name. On the reverse the heraldic figures, hand engraved, are rough.


Two units of the Lima type have survived. Both were clipped, probably by the assayer himself to adjust the weight to the 408 grain value specified in 1786 by the Bank of New York for the 8 escudo coin. On the better of the two coins, this date was deciphered in 1991 in the cropped edge. On both coins, the EB mark is on the reverse, in the center of the Jerusalem cross.

All these blunders indicate that Brasher's goal was to promote his expertise in the strike of metals. His Lima type doubloon is the very first gold coin minted in the United States with locally created dies and a gold alloy whose composition is different from that used in Lima.

The better of the two coins, graded MS61 by NGC, was sold for $ 2.1M by Heritage on January 21, 2021, lot 3935. The other coin, graded XF40 by NGC, was sold for $ 690K by Heritage on January 12, 2005.

1787 New York Type Brasher Doubloon

1
2021 SOLD for $ 9.4M by Heritage

The independence of the United States creates the need for a national emblem which will be affixed from an official seal. The project was accepted by Congress after six years, in 1782. It was double-sided, so that it could be printed at the end of a ribbon, but in practice only the face with the heraldic eagle would be used.

The popular iconography seized on this patriotic symbol in 1786, with the engravings prepared by James Trenchard for the first two issues of Columbian Magazine. The eagle with its outstretched wings, the thirteen stripes on the breast shield, the olive branch and the arrows appeared in 1787 on the reverse side of the Cent and Half Cent from Massachusetts.

The first gold coin illustrated with these symbols is the New York-style Brasher doubloon, also in 1787. The finest of the seven known examples, graded MS65 by NGC, was sold for $ 9.4M by Heritage on January 21, 2021, lot 3934.

Brasher was a metallurgist and definitely not an artist, which is amply demonstrated by his Lima-style doubloon prepared in 1786. In the meantime he partnered with the designer John Bailey.
The pieces are punch marked with his initials EB with two possible positions, on the wing and on the breast of the eagle. Although their centering and cutting are awkward, they are beautiful coins whose design is sharp enough to discourage counterfeiting. The centering is very good, with full readability all around.

Both sides are inspired by the national emblem. The eagle has all of its attributes, including the constellation of thirteen stars around its head. On the other side, the Eye of Providence shines its radiant light from above a pyramidal mountain. The inscription conforms to the federal motto E Pluribus Unum but the production is located in Nova Eboraca (New York).

Brasher's Lima-type and New York-type doubloons were not documented in period, which confirms how limited their use was. The gold alloy had undoubtedly been recovered by the melting of some jewelry. Brasher assayer's punch EB gave these coins an authorization for circulation and they are considered regular by numismatists.

A half doubloon is kept at the Smithsonian. It was made with the same dies and a thinner planchet. Unlike the doubloons of the same year but in accordance with the two known Lima style doubloons, some trimming was required to adjust the weight. This half doubloon was perhaps an intermediate version for testing the dies.

Heritage Auctions will offer the Donald G. Partrick Collection in a series of auctions over the next year, making available one of the most historic collections of American colonial coins ever assembled.https://t.co/lZtpZzLOKC#Coins #DonaldPartrick pic.twitter.com/0a798TEqkh

— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) August 11, 2020

"The World's Most Famous Coin" and a selection of seven-figure rarities could make numismatic history in Heritage Auctions' Jan. 20-24 U.S. Coins events held in Dallas.https://t.co/2oN3W3GbmL#USCoins #Coins pic.twitter.com/VxcRdUR9XC

— Heritage Auctions - Coins (@heritagecoins) January 7, 2021

Join us tomorrow for a little F-U-N!

It is a coin any collector would love to own, but only one will be able to possess. We could only be talking about the 1787 New York-Style Brasher Doubloon!

Jan. 20-24 FUN US Coins Auction #HeritageAuctions #coins https://t.co/Jq3TVG58jP pic.twitter.com/wysPjhL8uk

— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) January 20, 2021
Coin
Gold Coins
Development of USA
DEcade 1780-1789

2
2014 SOLD for $ 4.6M by Heritage

On January 9, 2014, Heritage listed one from only two New York style Brasher doubloons in mint condition, graded MS63 by PCGS. It was sold for $ 4.6M, lot 5100.

That specimen had been the discovery Brasher doubloon in the nineteenth century. It was at that time in the estate of an important dealer importer named Gilmor also known as an early collector of coins.

3
2005 SOLD for $ 3M by Heritage

A Brasher doubloon graded XF45 by NGC was sold for $ 3M by Heritage on January 15, 2005, lot 30017. It was later graded AU50 by PCGS.

It is the only New York type Brasher doubloon with the EB punch mark on the eagle's breast. A private sale at $ 7.395M was reported in December 2011.

The six other surviving units have the punch on the wing.

4
2005 SOLD for $ 2.4M by Heritage

On January 15, 2005 in the same sale as above, Heritage sold for $ 2.4M a Brasher doubloon with the EB punch on the eagle's wing, graded AU55 by NGC, lot 30016.

1792 Washington Gold Pattern
​2018 SOLD for $ 1.74M by Heritage

April 30, 1789 is the inaugural day of George Washington as the first president of the United States. The creation of a coinage system is becoming increasingly urgent. Throughout 1791 the debates are intense between the creation of a federal factory under close governmental control and the outsourcing to private workshops.

Several craftsmen offer their know-how by producing test pieces in copper for the 1 cent. The similarity of pieces of various origins adorned with the effigy of the President suggests that a guideline was provided. The most active is not American but English : the Westwood workshop in Birmingham for which Hancock is the engraver.

Trials in multiple denomination appear to be a common practice. Pieces are made from the same dies with various metals without worrying about the circulation value. This observation makes incomprehensible the expected use of the 1776 Continental Dollar.

On January 12, 1792 the Senate approves more detailed requirements for the design, triggering a new debate on a possible monarchical interpretation of the portrait of the president. Washington's position on this point is unclear but he does not seem upset when the Mint Act of 2 April 1792 removes his effigy and replaces it with Liberty.

A unique gold coin dated 1792 bearing the portrait of Washington is known. It was struck with dies that were also used with silver and copper. Described for the first time in 1855, this piece has long been attributed to Hancock. It is now re-attributed to the American inventor Jacob Perkins working in Newburyport MA, author of a medal where the drawing of the portrait is unquestionably identical.

This gold coin is close to the Eagle as defined in the Coin Act. It does not meet all the prescriptions of January 1792 and may have been engraved earlier and post-dated. It is graded XF-45 by NGC. Its traces of wear are typical of a transport in a purse that the imagination of numismatists identifies as the President's pocket.

It was for 75 years the favorite piece of Eric P. Newman's collection for its connection to the first President in the most valuable metal during the preparation phase of the US currency. It was sold for $ 1.74M by Heritage on August 16, 2018, lot 5010, for the benefit of institutions designated by the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

George's Coin, the 1792 Gold Piece that Jingled in George Washington's Pocket, will be Unveiled Tomorrow in Los Angeles!https://t.co/soAlfE3HAV pic.twitter.com/u4IMmmUPVq

— Heritage Auctions - Coins (@heritagecoins) June 20, 2018

1792 Birch Cent
2015 SOLD for $ 2.6M by Heritage

The Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 established both the US currency and the Philadelphia Mint that had to produce it. The first released value, issued in July 1792, was the half disme because it was the smallest silver coin. This operation which directly involved President Washington was essentially political as the small produced quantity did not allow an effective circulation.

Much effort was then applied to the cent, worth 1/100 of a dollar, authorized in copper by the Coinage Act. US people were impatient of possible delays in the currency promised by their Congress but on the other side  the unexpected rise in copper prices could turn to political disaster

This panic of copper is the cause of experiments of bimetallic copper-silver pattern cents : the silver-center cent and the fusible alloy cent. These unusual designs were both unsuitable for mass production.

Projects for full copper coin patterns are not abandoned. The Birch cent is certainly tested at the Philadelphia Mint at the end of 1792, of which it is bearing the date. Two copper variants are described by Judd and Pollock.

Similarities in the design enable to consider that this cent was prepared by the same engraver who also made the half disme. The Birch name is engraved down the neck of Liberty in the so-called Birch cent.

The sudden increase in the price of copper terminated this first federal cent before the production phase. Bimetallic copper-silver trials of 1792, which could not be industrially viable, were probably made in December.

The solution will be political. On January 14, 1793, the Congress is devaluing from 264 to 209 grains the weight of a copper cent. 264 grains correspond to 17.1 grams. The enigmatic Mr Birch disappears from the history of coinage, possibly in the 1793 yellow fever pandemic. The first 1 cent released for circulation will be the chain cent, in March 1793.

Nine units of the Birch copper cent are known. On January 8, 2015, Heritage listed the two finest specimens. The piece in Judd-4 variant, graded MS65 by NGC, weighs 220 grains. It was sold for $ 2.6M, lot 5504.

The coin in Judd-5 variant is the next lot, 5505. It was sold for $ 560K. It weighs 262 grains and is graded MS61 by NGC.

1792 Birch Cent sold for $2.585 mm making it the #recordholder for the most valuable penny ever sold! @FUN_Convention pic.twitter.com/Ovpewrni2e

— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) January 9, 2015
1792

1792 The Copper Eagle of Joseph Wright
2015 SOLD for $ 2.23M by Heritage

There is no doubt that the Eagle on Half-Globe is a test of dies made with copper and white metal planchets at the Philadelphia Mint in 1792. However, it does not comply with the rules of the Congress Act of April 2, 1792 according to which copper coins must be inscribed with their face value on the reverse.

The archives of the Mint are very incomplete for that first year. We will probably never know what the purpose of this test had been : to qualify a designer or to prepare a new model in copper or silver, which would have been a one cent or a quarter dollar. There was no follow-up.


It is undoubtedly an artist's piece, with on one side a dynamic and domineering eagle and on the other side a Liberty with bun more pleasant than the usual versions of that time with floating hair. The eagle on the globe had been since 1778 the interpretation chosen by the State of New York for the symbol of the USA.

The work is attributed to Joseph Wright, considered at that time to be one of the best portrait painters and whose mother was a wax modeler. He made tests for the Mint, as evidenced by the list of unpaid bills he established on his deathbed in September 1793. It is supposed that Washington and Jefferson, desiring a pretty artistic coinage, had pushed the candidacy of the young Wright, aged 36.

According to the Coinage Act, the quarter dollar is a silver coin. The two surviving copper specimens of the eagle on half  globe weigh between 175 and 180 grains and are thus much lighter than a cent even after the copper devaluation of 1793. The diameter, 29 mm, is almost consistent with the future quarters.

It was not uncommon to test the dies with various materials. The copper coins could be the product of a satisfactory test in copper before a failed trial in silver of which no evidence is available.

The finest copper coin, graded MS63 Brown by NGC, was sold for $ 2.23M by Heritage on January 8, 2015, lot 5511. The other piece, graded AU50, is preserved at the Smithsonian.

Prior to 2003, two pieces in white metal of the Eagle on half globe pattern coin were known, with weights of 345 and 242 grains, respectively. The composition of one of them was analyzed by NGC : 50% lead and 48% tin.

In 2003 an inventory at the New York Historical Society revealed two other previously unknown specimens in white metal, weighing 247 and 216 grains, respectively. They were both graded AU58 by NGC. No archive concerning them has been found. The lightest has been de-accessionned. It was sold for $ 1.26M by Heritage on April 24, 2021, lot 4960.

There are also two single-sided tests in white metal. The obverse, weighing 480 grains, is graded AU53 by PCGS. The reverse, weighing 433 grains, is graded XF45 by NGC. This pair will be sold later by Heritage.

1792 Silver Center Cent

1
2021 SOLD for $ 2.5M by Heritage

For the establishment of the federal currency, the major problem is not the dollar but the cent, which is used for all transactions of daily life. In the monetary anarchy of that era, it was easy to melt copper coins to recreate them with less weight. In 1787 the Fugio cent is an attempt at federal control over this denomination.

In 1789 George Washington becomes the first president. It is high time to define the federal currency. In the same year, the Fugio cent, directly impacted by the collapse in the price of copper, is terminated.

The feasibility of using copper for small change is questioned. In the entourage of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, a bimetallic system is suggested, with a proportion of 3 to 1 in value between silver and copper. Technologically, three solutions are possible : the alloy, the silver coating and the plug.

Bimetallic tests are performed by the Chief Coiner Henry Voigt.
Two processes are tried. The silver coating is not tested and the alloy is forgeable.

The Fusible Alloy cent goes straight to failure. The silver is in a too low proportion to alter the color of the copper and the coin would be very easy to counterfeit. It is one of the scarcest US pattern coins.

The Silver Center cent do not have this inconvenience. Slightly conical silver plugs are prepared in a thickness of 1.2 mm and an average diameter of 4.26 mm, providing the required proportion for a metal value of one hundredth of a dollar in a 23 mm copper piece. Inserted in the center of the piece of copper, the silver is quite visible, at least in a brand new coin. It is not acceptable because the production, which includes a melting after the insertion, induces an excessive cost of production.


On December 18, 1792, Jefferson reports to the President. He joins a prototype with a plug and a prototype made by fusion. His conclusion is clear : the cent defined by Congress will be made of copper alone. The risk linked to the instability of the copper price is thus accepted de facto. This statement is ratified by Congress in January 1793 with a decrease in the weight of the cent from 264 to 209 grains.

Twelve specimens of the Silver Center Cent have survived. The finest, graded SP67 Brown by PCGS, was sold for $ 2.5M by Heritage on January 20, 2021, lot 3004.

#HeritageLive: We kick off several days of FUN with some Important Selections from the Bob R. Simpson Collection, including this 1792 Silver Center Cent, SP67 Brown. Bidding opened at $1,875,000. It just sold for $2,520,000.https://t.co/SY2aqMz8e1#HACoins #numismatics pic.twitter.com/EQ9hEn3d6p

— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) January 20, 2021

2
2014 SOLD for $ 2M by Heritage

Twelve units of the silver center cent survived, to which we may add another one announced by the press in 2009 and a specimen without the plug.

The finest unit from this unusual and prestigious variety, is graded MS67 by PCGS.

The second finest is graded MS64 by PCGS with a nice sheen on both sides. It was sold for $ 2M by Heritage on August 7, 2014, lot 5517.
Coins 1793-99
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.