Owner Comments:
1820 Matron Head Cent. Newcomb-13. Large Date. Rarity-1. Mint State-65 RB (PCGS).
Highly lustrous light olive brown on the obverse with generous mint red undertones mottled throughout the fields and recesses. The reverse is similar near the center, but it is otherwise deep bluish steel. A couple of small marks left of Liberty's nose and a short streak of deeper patina on the N of UNITED will serve to identify this piece in the future.
An obverse crack connects all stars and digits of the date, as seen on all examples of the variety. The late state dies, Noyes' State-C/B, are identified by peripheral flowlines and weakening of the dentil tips. Another interesting feature of this specimen is that it was apparently struck in a broken collar. An irregular ridge of metal is seen following the edge of the coin from about star 3 to star 6, where it passes under the grading holder gasket. This is not a feature we recall having noticed on other examples of this variety.
This is a Randall Hoard variety and readily available in nice condition. It is also a very popular type coin as it tends to be found with fresh surfaces, good color and excellent eye appeal, as seen here. Supposition of the Randall Hoard source for nice 1820 cents is somewhat safe, as Dr. Montroville Dickeson wrote about them in 1859, prior to the discovery of the hoard, that "good specimens [are] difficult to be obtained."
PCGS# 1616. NGC ID: 2256.
PCGS Population: 87, 41 finer (MS-66+ BN finest) (All 1820 varieties)
Provenance: H.C.C. Rare Coins (Howard Cook); Foxfire Collection (Claude E. Davis, M.D.) by sale, via Richard Burdick; acquired with the Foxfire Collection, by sale, en bloc, October 2004.