Collectors Corner^SM: The Collectibles Marketplace

A 1793 Strawberry Leaf Cent. Click image to enlarge.

From its inception in 1986, PCGS recognized all die and die-error varieties listed in the current edition of A Guide Book of United States Coins (also known as the “Red Book”). Early varieties, such as the 1794 Starred Reverse Liberty Cap Cent, 19th-century repunched mintmarks like the 1882-O/S Morgan Dollar, and the popular 20th-century overdates like the 1918/7-S Standing Liberty Quarter were all designated as such on their holders. However, they did not carry their more familiar known attribution names as we identify them today.

That changed at the July 2008 Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, when PCGS officially announced it would begin attributing Morgan and Peace Dollars by VAM variety, or varieties cataloged by variety experts Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis in their seminal tome Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Silver Dollars. Within a few years, the “Sheldon numbers” (introduced by Dr. William Herbert Sheldon in his seminal book, Penny Whimsy) for the early large cents (1793-1814) and the “Overton numbers” (introduced by Al C. Overton in his 1960 book Early Half Dollar Die Varieties, 1794-1836) were also assigned to their respective die pairings. The attribution names for other early series denominations soon followed as well the “Fivaz-Stanton” (FS) numbers for many 19th- and 20th-century die varieties. To commemorate PCGS’s 40th anniversary, we are featuring three of the rarest, historic, and most famous varieties in all of American numismatics.

Comparisons of the Normal Leaf and Strawberry Leaf varieties. Click image to enlarge.

Among the 13 of the 1793 Wreath Reverse Cent Sheldon varieties is the 1793 Strawberry Leaf (Sheldon NC-2 and NC-3). First announced in the American Journal of Numismatics in April 1869, this obverse features what appears to be a sprig of three leaves over the date. It has been known by other names early on (“Clover Leaf” and “Laurelblossom” among them) and was considered to be a pattern by Dr. Sheldon himself due to the lack of any evidence of die deterioration. It has since been referred to as the Strawberry Leaf Cent, of which only four specimens are known to exist between the two Sheldon numbers; the finest-graded specimen is a VG10 encapsulated by PCGS.

1817/4 Capped Bust Half Dollar (Overton-102 and Overton 102a). Click image to enlarge.

The 1817/4 Capped Bust Half Dollar (Overton-102 and Overton-102a) is the indisputable “King of Half Dollars.” Descended since 1846 through a California family and brought to light in 1930, it was created by overdating an unused die from a previous year, a common practice at the time for economic reasons. Although the 1817/4 is not the rarest of the 450-plus identified Overton die varieties (only three are rarer), it is by far the most eye-catching. Of the 11 known to exist, the finest specimen, the discovery coin, graded AU53 by PCGS, was purchased by Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. in 1953 from Al C. Overton himself for the then-substantial sum of $1,500.

An 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle contrasted with a regular 1861 Liberty Head Double Eagle reverse. Click image to enlarge.

The 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle is one of the rarest regular issues in all of American numismatics. In 1860, Assistant Engraver Anthony C. Paquet, retaining the basic elements of James B. Longacre’s earlier design, used reverse letters that were taller and narrower, a shield border consisting of two lines instead of one, and stars placed lower in a more elongated fashion away from the rays. The new reverse dies, however, caused striking problems. So, although their use was canceled at the New Orleans Mint before any were struck, the San Francisco Mint struck a few hundred before they were notified. The Philadelphia Mint also struck a number of examples, but many were melted, leaving only the two known to exist today.