1803 Draped Bust Cent. S-254. Rarity-1. Small Date, Small Fraction. MS-63 BN (PCGS). CAC.
This fully lustrous and glossy medium brown cent exhibits delicate steel-blue tinting to both sides. Faded mint red color is very much in evidence along the upper obverse border. Precious few copper coins from this period show any mint color and this piece is exceptional in this regard. A few trivial carbon spots are scattered about to preclude an even higher certified numeric grade, but there are no significant marks, and the in hand appearance is quite smooth overall. Breen Die State IV. Many die marriages of this date correspond to the Small Date, Small Fraction Guide Book variety of the 1803 Draped Bust cent. Among these is Sheldon-254, a variety with a number of Mint State coins known. This is especially good news for high grade type collectors, who are certain to flock to this Choice survivor as a superior representative of the Draped Bust design. Of course, early copper variety enthusiasts are also sure to find much to admire in this cent. With bidding expected to be intense, only an aggressive strategy will take home this prize.
PCGS# 1482. NGC ID: 224G.
From our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of February 2008, lot 73; Heritage's sale of the Adam Mervis Large Cent Collection, January 2014 FUN Signature Auction, lot 2805.

Estimate: $12000