Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents

Sheldon's final effort in this series bore the perhaps-unfortunate title Penny Whimsy. (2,500 copies printed. Several reprints; that here used is the corrected version, Lawrence, Massachusetts: Quarterman Publications, 1976.) His text remained mostly intact from Early American Cents, though with a few errors corrected and a few passages revised, most notably those 10 ad hoc rules for calculating book values.

Into the original sequences he inserted four new varieties (1794 NC-5, NC-6, 1797 NC-6, 1801 NC-3) and one new sub-variety (1794 NC-4). Objections to his title came early from those who realize that the Philadelphia Mint never made a penny, despite its millions of cents, but Sheldon dithered for months without finding a name he liked better. (1 would have called it Uncommon Cents). (In a note to the editor, Dave Bowers mentioned that Walter Breen was initially "very enthusiastic" about the Penny Whimsy title.)

His intent was to represent cents as a scientist's pastime, rather than a dealer's stock in trade. As the authorized successor to Early American Cents, Penny Whimsy became the standard text. A generation from now, whether or not collectors will remember Crosby or Hays numbers, many will still be using Sheldon numbers.

My pamphlets The United States Patterns of 1792 and Minor Coinages of the Philadelphia Mint 1793-1916 drew upon some unfamiliar material from the National Archives. All of the information therein relevant to early cents, corrected and updated, has been incorporated into the present volume.

Don Taxay's The U.S. Mint and Coinage must be included herein, not because it dealt primarily with cents, but because it is the definitive history of the Philadelphia Mint, including fascinating details about officers, personnel, and operations during the Mint's first two decades-the decades of the early cents. Much of the historical and technical material in the present volume derives from Taxay's book when it does not come directly from documents in the National Archives.

Outside of the specialized commentaries in PennyWise and in the Bowers & Ruddy fixed price list of the John W. Adams Collection of 1794s offered in 1982, (Adams assembled a formidable collection of this date, among which were numerous Condition Census coins, the finest known 1794 Starred Reverse, and other delicacies. Extensive pedigrees and technical notes were also provided. The fixed price list of the Adams Collection was written by Q. David Bowers from notes prepared by John W. Adams.) the most important new publications on cents since Sheldon's have been R. W. Julian's historical monographs. These have filled in many gaps in our knowledge of the first Mint's early vicissitudes, operations, and output. Without them, the technical and historical materials of the present volume would have been much further from correct. It is a continuing source of regret that Julian's articles have not been updated and assembled, with his comparable research papers on silver and gold series, into a book length study. Those actually used herein include: