Owner Comments:
N-6
Large Letters
Tied CC#2 Noyes
R1
Handsome Mint State 1831 N-6 Large Letters Cent
Ex Hines-Starr-Halpern-Nicholas-Naftzger-ESM
1831 Matron Head Cent. N-6. Rarity-1. Large Letters. MS-65 BN (PCGS).
Type: Matron Head.
Design: Obv: A head of Liberty faces left with 13 stars around the border and the date 1831 below. She is wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, her hair tied into a bun at the back of her head by a plain cord. Rev: A circular wreath encloses the denomination ONE CENT with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border.
Weight Standard: 10.89 grams.
Diameter: 28-29 mm.
Die Variety: Newcomb-6. Obv: Even date with the peaks of both 1s leaning inward. The inner point of star 6 is just right of the coronet tip. There is a faint die line on the coronet behind the letters RTY in LIBERTY, and a tiny die line at the base of the lowest hair curl. This obverse die also appears in the 1831 N-8 and N-7 pairings. Rev: Large Letters in the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The letter O in OF is low and leans left, and the die is lightly rusted with spalling around the letters in the denomination ONE CENT and the first A in STATES. This reverse die also appears in the 1831 N-9 and N-12 pairings.
Eight of the die marriages of this issue correspond to the Large Letters Guide Book variety of the 1831 Matron Head cent: N-1, N-6, N-7, N-8, N-9, N-10, N-12 and N-14.
Die State: Noyes B/C. Obv: Light die wear with the field a bit rough around the periphery, there is spalling from die rust at star 12. Rev: In addition to the aforementioned spalling at the letters in the denomination ONE CENT and the first A in STATES inherited from earlier die states, heavier spalling is now also evident within the wreath. The die is worn with flowlining in the field and the denticles fading.
Edge: Plain.
Mintage for the Issue: Federal records indicate a mintage of 3,359,260 cents during calendar year 1831. Some of the reverse dies used to strike the 1831-dated issue are shared with later-date issues in this series, as follows:
-1831 N-2, 1835 N-12, 1835 N-13, 1835 N-18
-1831 N-4, 1833 N-1, 1833 N-4
-1831 N-5, 1832 N-1
By studying the progression of the reverse die states in these pairings, numismatic scholars have confirmed that the 1831 N-2 variety was struck in between the 1835 N-12 and N-13, the 1831 N-4 was struck in between the 1833 N-4 and 1833 N-1, and the 1831 N-5 was struck after the 1832 N-1. As such, the actual mintage from 1831-dated dies is higher than the 3,359,260-piece mintage reported for calendar year 1831 and includes coins reported for calendar years 1832, 1833 and 1835.
Estimated Surviving Population for the Die Variety: Rarity-1: More than 1,500 coins in all grades.
Strike: Boldly to sharply struck in and around the centers on both sides, the obverse is well centered with a boldly and uniformly denticulated border. The stars are also sharp with most exhibiting full radial lines. The reverse periphery is soft due to die state, as above, but the impression is well centered with denticulation still evident in all areas. Prominent shelf doubling is evident on the obverse along Liberty's profile, at the front of the coronet, the letters ERTY in LIBERTY, and stars 7 through 13.
Surfaces: Frosty steel-brown surfaces with subtle powder blue undertones. Smooth and virtually pristine, a few light marks on the letter U in UNITED and faint remnants of fingerprints on the obverse at stars 7 and 12 to 13 are the only useful provenance markers.
Commentary: A solid Mint State example, this coin is sure to see spirited bidding among collectors seeking a high grade representative of either the 1831 Newcomb-6 die pairing or the Large Letters Guide Book variety of the date. Tied for CC#2 in the Noyes census with an EAC grade of MS-63, the more conservative Del Bland says EAC MS-60, while Bob Grellman's grade is EAC MS-62.
Provenance: From the ESM Collection. Earlier ex Thomas L. Elder's sale of June 1926, lot 1781; Henry C. Hines; Floyd T. Starr; our (Stack's) sale of the Floyd T. Starr Collection, Part II, December 1984, lot 1677; Herman Halpern; our (Stack's) sale of the Herman Halpern Collection, March 1988, lot 423; John J. Nicholas; Superior's sale of the John J. Nicholas Collection, February 1992 Century Collection Sale, lot 561; R.E. "Ted" Naftzger, Jr.; Ira & Larry Goldberg's sale of the R.E. "Ted" Naftzger, Jr. Collection, Part II, February 2009, lot 256.Stack's Bowers August 2020, lot 1095.
PCGS Population (all die marriages of the Large Letters variety): 11; 1 finer in this category (MS-66 BN).
PCGS# 36973. NGC ID: 225M.