1793 S16 Liberty Cap large cent, Beaded Border, R6. Last sold in the Heritage auction of 01/21/21 as lot #3312, where it was described as: “1793 Liberty Cap, Good 6. Rare Sheldon-16. 1793 1C Liberty Cap, S-16, B-19, R.6, Good 6 PCGS. Ex: Mervis. The E and T in LIBERTY are entered low, and leaftips touch at the top of the wreath. The 1793 Liberty Cap cent is rare in all grades and varieties, but S-16 is third-rarest among the six die marriages, behind only S-15 and the non-collectible NC-6. The present cent has readable legends, with a bold fraction, LIBERTY, UNITED, and ONE CENT. The date and STATES OF AME are faint but can mostly be discerned. The bust is nicely outlined and the wreath is complete. Dentils are partly present on the obverse near 12 o'clock and the reverse near 6 o'clock. There are no mentionable marks though the coin has a slight bend. Portions of the reverse periphery are lightly granular, and the obverse displays a few blushes of ruby-red patina. Overall, a desirable representative of a highly challenging Sheldon variety. Our EAC Grade Good 4. Ex: Stack's (6/1991), lot 1568; David Palmer; San Diego Cookie Jar Collection; Chris Victor-McCawley; Shawn Yancey; Adam Mervis Large Cent Collection / FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2014), lot 2426; Dr. Mark Cadden; Shawn Yancey.” The coin sold for $9,000 in this 2021 Heritage sale, but in the Heritage Mervis sale from 2014 it realized $15,275. In the Mervis auction, Heritage described the coin as: “1793 S-16, B-19 Liberty Cap Cent, VG8. Tenth Finest Known. 1793 1C Liberty Cap, S-16, B-19, R.6 VG8 NGC. Our EAC Grade Good 4. Ex: Mervis Collection. Both sides show intermingled tan, steel-brown, and brick-red, with a few scattered marks that are consistent with the grade. The sharpness is equal to VG7 with the surfaces showing old patina and a slight bend, reducing the net grade by a few points. There are only about 20 examples of S-16 known in all grades, and this piece ranks in the 10th position per the Noyes census.” This coin is also a well-known rarity that is pedigreed in the Noyes Numistudy condition census as coin #37246, where it is EAC-graded as VG7 net G4 and tied for CC9-12. The PCGS Price Guide lists this coin at $14,000 in G6 but that is for the common S-13 variety, so I have this coin priced just slightly above that level at $14,950. The “S-16 Liberty Cap” attribution and “Mervis” pedigree are each listed on the PCGS label.
