Large Cents 1797 S-131 R2 Stemless Wreath, Reverse of 1797, AU55

Large Cents
1797 S-131 R2 Stemless Wreath, Reverse of 1797, AU55 PCGS. Frosty steel and medium olive brown. Smooth with just light wear on the devices. Satiny mint frost peeks through in protected areas and this cent has outstanding eye appeal. No spots, stains, or roughness, only a few inconspicuous contact marks. The notable marks are a few tiny ticks in the field over the hair ribbon and a dull diagonal nick between the C in CENT and the berry to the left. MDS, Breen state III early. The small lump hanging down from the end of the nose is clear and a fine die crack has started to emerge from the lower curls into the field, but the second vertical crack in the field before the portrait has not formed. Graded AU50 net EF45 and CC#1 in the Noyes census, his photo #23028. Bland says EF40 and tied for CC#2 behind a piece that is sharper but repaired and recolored. This cataloger's EAC grade is EF45. This is the plate coin for the variety in Dr. Sheldon's Early American Cents and Penny Whimsy. A superior example of the 1797 Stemless Wreath variety. Comes with an impressive provenance that has been traced back more than 100 years. The attribution and Doug Bird Collection provenance are noted on the PCGS Gold Shield label. PCGS population 2; none finer. 35981.55/13470581.
Ex Peter Mougey-William H. Woodin, Thomas L. Elder #43, 9/1/1910:28-Dr. Henry W. Beckwith, S. H. Chapman 4/27/1923:11-Elmer S. Sears-Howard R. Newcomb, J. C. Morgenthau & Co. #458, 2/7/1945:155-Leonard M. Holland, Pennypacker Auction Centre 5/8/1959-C. Douglas Smith-Bertram Cohen 3/30/1985-C. Douglas Smith-Herman Halpern, Stack's 3/16/1988:132-Roxanne Greenstein 8/25/1988-C. Douglas Smith- Dr. Robert A. Schuman, McCawley & Grellman Auctions/Superior 6/5/2000:153-Jon A. Boka 10/27/2005-Walter J. Husak, Heritage Auctions 2/15/2008:2134-Douglas F. Bird Collection, Goldbergs 2/16/2020:49-Walter J. Husak Collection (includes the last lot ticket).

Dr. Henry Witter Beckwith of New Haven, Connecticut formed a remarkable collection of 119 high quality large cents that Samuel H. Chapman sold at auction on April 27, 1923. John W. Adams described the Beckwith collection as "the finest collection of high condition cents of all time." Walter Breen called him "the first perfectionist." In 1978, C. Douglas Smith related a story from Dr. Sheldon that Beckwith was 70 years old when his collection was sold, and that he lived another 30 years. Many of his cents went to Henry Hines, and in his later years, Dr. Beckwith asked Hines if he could "just look at some of my old coins." Beckwith was born at Norwich, Connecticut on May 7, 1869 and died at Nahant, Massachusetts on August 6, 1958. He was a graduate of the Dartmouth College Medical School. Beckwith married Genevieve "Hettie" Jolley on June 2, 1908, and they were divorced between 1920 and 1930, many years after the 1910 birth of a son, Henry Beckwith, Jr. She died in 1950 and her Connecticut death record states that she was never married. His 1958 obituary states that he "was the husband of the late Mrs. Genevieve (Jolley) Beckwith.
From The Collections of Walter J. Husak and The Liberty Cap Foundation.

https://coins.ha.com/itm/large-cents/1797-s-131-r2-stemless-wreath-reverse-of-1797-au55-pcgs/a/1370-2119.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-USCoins-1370-01042024

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