Hey folks ! It's time to play America's favorite home fun game.... "Attribute THIS !!!" Up for grabs is a perennial favorite type coin - a Liberty Cap large cent. "Ahhhhh yes... 1794.... it was a very good year..." This was the first time the US Mint cranked out any coin in volume. The dies were achey-breaky, so they went through quite a number before they fulfilled production quotas - 37 obverse dies and 41 reverse dies hit the presses and gave us a total of 69 different varieties. This provides such a collecting challenge that some folks specialize in 1794 cents exclusively - the so-called "Boys of 94" club. Cool group, they. Anyway, here are a couple of pics. Feel free to attribute it, pointing out key diagnostics and your rationale. It's great for the newer folks to see how it's done. They'll catch the bug soon enough !!! As always, any and all comments are encouraged. This here's Ricky B aka ya boy Lil' Slick- ovah and OUT !
No it isn't an S-20. S-20 is a head of 93 and this is a head of 94. LIBERTY is well away from the bust so that makes it S-21 through 44. The Junction of Hair and Forehead (JHF) is below the left foot of the T. That eliminates 21,22,24,25,26,27,30,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,and 42. This leaves 23,28,29,31,43,and 44 The CA in AMERICA almost touch That eliminates 43 and 44 (Also NC-5 and NC-10) On 29 the RI touch so it is out. We are down to 23,28 and 31. The right stem is close to the foot of the A, that eliminates 31. Outer leaf below O in OF is slightly right of center, that eliminates 23. That makes it S-28 For final confirmation the right branch of the wreath does not connect with the ribbon knot.
I start with the hair on the obverse. Note: the parallel strands of hair at the top which are NOT parallel with the rest of the strands below it. To me, this is distinctively Obverse 10. Two reverses are G with (among other distinctive features) ribbons above the knot and Reverse H with ribbons at the knot. This has ribbons above the knot so S-28.
Interesting how people go about attributing large cents all in different ways: Marshall, Conder, and Yakpoo go about it in a scientific way. Maybe others do too. Following logical sequences and patterns. I tend to do it the 'idiots' way, focusing on one point in the coin (usually the placement of the ribbons and / or leaves), or the shape of the date, and then looking at every picture in the book for that year until I get a hit. It works, but it probably takes me twice as long (or more) as the pro's.
I actually do it the same way, but after a while, I can zero in on distinctive differences more easily. I've attributed many coins through the painstaking process of elimination only to find a feature which is diagnostic or nearly so. Just be careful not to assume the first hit is the only hit. I've purchased a couple of coins on eBay because I got excited about the first hit and failed to notice a second or third.
Pretty much everyone does. I wish we wouldn't; Breen numbers make a lot more sense. But it won't change anytime soon. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
Eduard, your method is similar to the same way I do it, but I know of various features that tend to vary considerably through the series. For example the position of the JHF can be as far left as almost centered between the R and T, to as far right as centered between T and Y. That can easily be grouped into five groups left of the T below the left foot, below the upright, below the right foot, and right of the T. If you can see the JHF position you can eliminate anything that doesn't match that position. Then you select another variable feature and see how that compares to the group you have left. In most cases you can narrow it down to just a few fairly quickly.
