By Jeff Lubinski, Numismatist
Being a fan of copper coins, I’ve always had a particular fondness for two-cent pieces. I’ve also always been fascinated by the history of slabs and third party grading services. Here we have a great combination of these two interests. The coin is an 1864 Small Motto two-cent piece graded MS65RD by PCGS. The slab is a classic PCGS Legacy holder (also known as a Regency holder). Information on these holders is scarce to say the least. According to PCGS, they were produced between 1992 and 1995, though slab collectors consider these slabs to be the second scarcest type. The holder was ahead of its time in that it allowed the coin’s submitter to insert two lines of text on the insert, this coin displaying: “The Garrett Collection—Lot 220 Phillip Smith.” The coin is solid for the grade, with a hint of browning on the devices and slightly subdued red fields. I would call the coin 90% red. The reverse features several die cracks including a lengthy one from near the rim in STATES all the way past AMERICA. Under a 10x loupe the field displays a generous number of flow lines and very few contact marks.
The coin will be featured in our upcoming 2012 August ANA Sale as lot 11246.
No comments:
Post a Comment