Pos	Grade	Pedigree and History
1	PCGS MS63BN	Discovered in England; Lester Merkin; C. Douglas Smith, 1965; Alfred Bonard; French’s, privately, May 1967; R.E. "Ted" Naftzger, Jr., February 1992; Eric Streiner; R.E. “Ted” Naftzger, Jr., 2001. As PCGS MS63BN #13457903. “The Walter J. Husak Collection,” Heritage Auctions, February 15, 2008, Lot 2040 – $57,500; Chris Victor-McCawley, Fixed Price List, Spring 2008 – $75,000; (sold privately on March 17, 2008); "The Daniel W. Holmes, Jr. Collection," Goldberg Auctioneers, September 6, 2009, Lot 60 – $86,250; Larry A. Bland; "The Del and Larry Bland Collection," Early Cents Auctions, September 3, 2022, Lot 512 – $114,000; "The Colonel Steven K. Ellsworth Collection," Heritage Auctions, January 8, 2026, Lot 2043 – $91,500; John Torres. S-38. Finest known. Die State II.
2	Est. AU55	As "Uncirculated." "The Richard B. Winsor Collection," Samuel Hudson & Henry Chapman December 17, 1895, Lot 836 - $35; W.W. Hays, 1900; Charles T. Steigerwalt, 1906. As "Extremely Fine." "The Charles G. Zug Collection," Lyman H. Low, March 1907, Lot 41 - $33.50. As "Uncirculated, light brown with traces of original red." "The Howard R. Newcomb Collection of United States Cents, Part I, 1793-1814," J. C. Morgenthau & Co., February 1945, Lot 56 - $140; George H. Clapp; George H. Clapp to the American Numismatic Society, December 19, 1946; American Numismatic Society - View. S-38. Die State I. Exhibits slightly more wear on the high points than the PCGS MS63BN piece. Two vertical marks near the bust truncation. Dull mark in the lower right obverse field. Thin pin scratch under IB of LIBERTY.
3	PCGS XF40	As "Fine to Very Fine." "The Ebenezer Gilbert Collection," Thomas L. Elder, October 13, 1910, Lot 41 - $20; H.O. Granberg; William H. Woodin. As "Fine, small cut out of edge." "Catalogue of the Superb Collection of United States Coins Belonging to a Prominent American (Woodin)," The United States Coin Co. May 21, 1915, Lot 126 - $13; Henry C. Hines; Homer K. Downing. As "EF40." 1952 American Numismatic Association Auction, New Netherlands Coin Co., Lot 1684 - $150 • Harold Bareford, September 13, 1985; "The Herman Halpern Collection," Stack’s, March 1988, Lot 50 - $3,520. As PCGS XF40 #57538486. S-38.
3	PCGS XF40	Rarcoa, 1974; Gordon J. Wrubel, March 1976; Denis W. Loring, May 7, 1983; Jack H. Robinson, January 23, 1988; “The J.R. Frankenfield Collection,” Superior Galleries, February 2001, Lot 234; W.M. “Jack” Wadlington, 2004; Daniel W. Holmes, Jr., March 17, 2008; Chris Victor-McCawley; Walter J. Husak. As NGC XF45BN #2038595-035. "The Adam Mervis Large Cent Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 2014, Lot 2465 – $47,000; Jon Alan Boka. As PCGS XF-40 #81233642. Heritage Auctions, September 8, 2016, Lot 5323 – $30,550; Chris Victor-McCawley, April 21, 2017; Terry S. Duman. S-38. Die State II.

#1 PCGS MS63BN

Discovered in England; Lester Merkin; C. Douglas Smith, 1965; Alfred Bonard; French’s, privately, May 1967; R.E. "Ted" Naftzger, Jr., February 1992; Eric Streiner; R.E. “Ted” Naftzger, Jr., 2001. As PCGS MS63BN #13457903. “The Walter J. Husak Collection,” Heritage Auctions, February 15, 2008, Lot 2040 – $57,500; Chris Victor-McCawley, Fixed Price List, Spring 2008 – $75,000; (sold privately on March 17, 2008); "The Daniel W. Holmes, Jr. Collection," Goldberg Auctioneers, September 6, 2009, Lot 60 – $86,250; Larry A. Bland; "The Del and Larry Bland Collection," Early Cents Auctions, September 3, 2022, Lot 512 – $114,000; "The Colonel Steven K. Ellsworth Collection," Heritage Auctions, January 8, 2026, Lot 2043 – $91,500; John Torres. S-38. Finest known. Die State II.

#2 Est. AU55

As "Uncirculated." "The Richard B. Winsor Collection," Samuel Hudson & Henry Chapman December 17, 1895, Lot 836 - $35; W.W. Hays, 1900; Charles T. Steigerwalt, 1906. As "Extremely Fine." "The Charles G. Zug Collection," Lyman H. Low, March 1907, Lot 41 - $33.50. As "Uncirculated, light brown with traces of original red." "The Howard R. Newcomb Collection of United States Cents, Part I, 1793-1814," J. C. Morgenthau & Co., February 1945, Lot 56 - $140; George H. Clapp; George H. Clapp to the American Numismatic Society, December 19, 1946; American Numismatic Society - View. S-38. Die State I. Exhibits slightly more wear on the high points than the PCGS MS63BN piece. Two vertical marks near the bust truncation. Dull mark in the lower right obverse field. Thin pin scratch under IB of LIBERTY.

#3 PCGS XF40

As "Fine to Very Fine." "The Ebenezer Gilbert Collection," Thomas L. Elder, October 13, 1910, Lot 41 - $20; H.O. Granberg; William H. Woodin. As "Fine, small cut out of edge." "Catalogue of the Superb Collection of United States Coins Belonging to a Prominent American (Woodin)," The United States Coin Co. May 21, 1915, Lot 126 - $13; Henry C. Hines; Homer K. Downing. As "EF40." 1952 American Numismatic Association Auction, New Netherlands Coin Co., Lot 1684 - $150 • Harold Bareford, September 13, 1985; "The Herman Halpern Collection," Stack’s, March 1988, Lot 50 - $3,520. As PCGS XF40 #57538486. S-38.

#3 PCGS XF40

Rarcoa, 1974; Gordon J. Wrubel, March 1976; Denis W. Loring, May 7, 1983; Jack H. Robinson, January 23, 1988; “The J.R. Frankenfield Collection,” Superior Galleries, February 2001, Lot 234; W.M. “Jack” Wadlington, 2004; Daniel W. Holmes, Jr., March 17, 2008; Chris Victor-McCawley; Walter J. Husak. As NGC XF45BN #2038595-035. "The Adam Mervis Large Cent Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 2014, Lot 2465 – $47,000; Jon Alan Boka. As PCGS XF-40 #81233642. Heritage Auctions, September 8, 2016, Lot 5323 – $30,550; Chris Victor-McCawley, April 21, 2017; Terry S. Duman. S-38. Die State II.

Charles Morgan:

The 1794 Liberty Cap Cent, Sheldon 38, Marred Field

The Sheldon 38 (#35579) marks a return of Obverse 10 from S-30 (#35555) and S-31 (#35558). Due to the extensive reworking of the die, Dr. William H. Sheldon classified it as a distinct die; consequently the Early American Copper (EAC) community typically refers to this state as Obverse 17.

The obverse die is noted for its distinctive vertical die chip in the lower-left obverse field. For the S-38, the die was heavily reworked, with modifications in the hair to fill in the diagonal void in the hair located halfway down Liberty's neck. The denticles and the date were also reworked.

Beyond S-38, this obverse is also found on S-39 (#35582), S-40 (#35585), and the rare NC-2 (#35663).

Reverse M: The Single Berry The reverse die is shared with Sheldon 36 (#35573) and 37 (#35576). It is easily identified by two primary features:

Single Berry: Only one berry is positioned to the immediate left of the ribbon bow.
Leaf Placement: The lowest leaf on the right side of the wreath terminates directly below the right side of the "C" in AMERICA.
Wreath Count: Six berries on the left branch and seven on the right.

An Uncertain 19th Century Discovery Story

The discovery of the S-38 is often credited to W.W. Hays, a prominent collector who contributed to Édouard Frossard’s 1893 reference, Varieties of United States Cents of the Year 1794. Samuel Hudson and Henry Chapman also credited Hays in their write-up for the Richard B. Winsor Collection catalog of 1895; Hays subsequently purchased that very coin. However, if Hays did discover the variety, it was not yet apparent thirteen years earlier when John W. Haseltine published his catalog for the Andrew Madsen Smith Collection, which described the piece as follows:

"Not in Maris' or Frossard's monograph. Obverse resembles Maris' No. 43 and Monograph No. 30, but the hair is different and the 4 does not touch the bust. Reverse has one berry on the left opposite the ribbon bow, as in Maris' No. 19 and 43 and Monograph Nos. 25 and 30, but it is different from either of them. Very good. Very rare."

Haseltine's assessment of the variety as "very rare" has stood the test of time. It is currently considered an R5, with approximately 60 known examples, most of which are in low circulated grades. At the top of the PCGS Condition Census sits the only known uncirculated example of the variety.

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Regency XIX Preview | Legend Rare Coin Auctions | December 15, 2016

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