Real Nice 1798 Large Cent

[grasshopper]

Went to a late 18th century blockhouse (no longer standing) with a c.1830s house on the same property today. It was my 3rd trip to this site.

I didn't stay too long but got a nice deep signal on the v3i which was high-frequency dominant. I knew it was going to be something good. Turns out I was right - came away with my 3rd 1798 large cent in lovely condition. I don't want to clean it too much because it seems when I try and clean old coppers I make them look worse. So I think I'm going to leave it as is...

The back strike is fairly off-center. Any thoughts on the variety?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Don in SJ]

ALRIGHTY THEN!!!!! Sheldon-172 .....R-2 Common Nice pics! Although it is VERY...VERY close to the 176....the biggest difference I can see is the position of "E" in "Liberty" on the obverse. Can someone confirm?? This is definitely one of the best 1798 LC's I've seen dug. There is still a TON of detail left underneath all that dirt! This is a great candidate for the peroxide bath. I would have already done that. But someone who doesn't know about this method should ask someone before trying it. No apparent pitting on coin! Just as good as you can get from the ground. I would safely say.....AFTER PEROXIDE......$700-900 on EBAY. (Maybe more!) What do you say Don? IP?

Enough eyestrain
To be a Sheldon 172 the Berry below the E in UNITED is STEMLESS, I am not 100% sure due to looking at a photo but think I see a stem! Compare with others that have a stem and look at an example of a S172 closely at that berry area......These are all the varieties I first gave possiblity to, but just too tough to call with just enough dirt/corrosion giving a clear pic.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[ohiowhiteguy]

very nice..i have found 1 and 1/2 of one and they were toasted...keep looking.
hh
OWG..

 

[hogge]

Someone ought to post the last 2 pics on C-4, and see what they say. Don.....what's your best guess?

 

[Don in SJ]

Someone ought to post the last 2 pics on C-4, and see what they say. Don.....what's your best guess?

I will email photos to David P, he is the Large Cent expert. see if he repies. S-172 was my initial thought yesterday morning but discounted it just like I did 3 other possibles, I have been using Breens book which is not the easiest book for attributing, especially 1798s which there are so many varieites for, I have several of mine I have never positively attributed, they are a tough year when worn or ground found, even with good details, it only takes one needed area to be worn/corroded or dirty to make positive ID a big challenge.

Sent photos to David P..............Hopefully a reply by AM. NO REPLY, email addy no good, so I posted it to C4 group.

 

[Don in SJ]

Well still no positive ID on the variety! I would highly recommend leave coin as is for now, it might be something different and if so, would draw a lot of interest from collectors. I still lean against it being a new variety, but you never know, new varieties are found every now and then.

Not an easy year to attribute, since certain details needed to positively ID on some varieties usually are wiped out from the dirt and corrosion of being in the ground, some varieties you have to go by small die chips to help determine and they are hard to see on the vast majority of ground founds. Have come up with several possibilites only to be shot down by one missing and necessary element, so in other words, a frustrating coin to ID to say the least. A great challenge and even a couple of Large Cent collectors have not come up with the variety ID as of this time, but hopefully we will get the answer..........

Don

 

[Sovereignelite]

Congrats on an awesome find! I just found my FIRST LC yesterday!

 

[Don in SJ]

OK, your 1798 is a Sheldon 176, Rarity 4 (Scarce). One of the toughest Draped Bust's coppers I ever tried to attribute, even though your coin had good detail, the dirt IS hiding the needed attributable details. Some coins the differences are subtle, on yours, if you take a wet qtip and gently remove the dirt in the dentil area and letters ER in AMERICA you should be able to see lines like the ones in the attached photo. If they were showing it would have been very easy to ID. Other attritbutes concerned the lengths and conditions of the serifs on certain letters.....

So, not a rare one but still a very nice Large Cent find.

Don

 

[Groovedymond]

Hi Don!

Thanks for the feedback on that. Please keep in mind that I am still learning the coppers, however, I think I must disagree with this attribution.

The one thing that sticks out the most to me is the DOT located between the NT (CENT) on the reverse. The example coin shows it very clearly, however, the found coin doesn't even show a shadow of this mark. The example of the S-176 I found on Heritage does not show the mark there either, however, if we use the Heritage coin as the example, then the E (Cent) does not match in the serif markings of the font!

Lastly... The berry located under the OF on the reverse... on the example coins, there is hardly a stem to be seen (really not there at all), yet on the found coin, the stem is not only clearly visible, it's pronounced!

I guess i'm just not fully convinced yet! Am I just being too pick, or just not seeing it? I'd love to get your input!

View attachment CentCompare.bmp

 

[grasshopper]

Thank you so much again to everyone who has assisted in IDing this coin.

I cleaned the back a bit more and took a few more pictures. I definitely see some kind of marks around the ER in AMERICA, but can't say for sure that they look like the lines indicated by Don's last post. Hopefully these pictures are a bit more helpful...

 

[hogge]

I'm good with the 176 ID.

 

[Atomic Ed]

Excellent find!

 

[Don Chiasson]

Went to a late 18th century blockhouse (no longer standing) with a c.1830s house on the same property today. It was my 3rd trip to this site.

I didn't stay too long but got a nice deep signal on the v3i which was high-frequency dominant. I knew it was going to be something good. Turns out I was right - came away with my 3rd 1798 large cent in lovely condition. I don't want to clean it too much because it seems when I try and clean old coppers I make them look worse. So I think I'm going to leave it as is...

The back strike is fairly off-center. Any thoughts on the variety?

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=823286"/>

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=823292"/>

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=823296"/>

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=823301"/>

If I were to say that registers in the z1 cent area... Bronze right? So registers the middle of the road.

 

[grasshopper]

If I were to say that registers in the z1 cent area... Bronze right? So registers the middle of the road.

It's copper - rang up in the high 70s