I finally got around to taking decent pictures of my 1804 cent. There is only one die variety for the cents of 1804, Sheldon 266. Sheldon 266 is known in 3 die states: die state a (no die breaks). Die state b (only one die break, and die state c (both obverse and reverse show a break). My example is a die state c, which is also by far the commonest. The cents of 1804 are in fact not rare. In fact, by some estimates there are as many as 1200-1500 specimens in existence (the majority being die state c). Many examples show, however, corrosion, porosity, pits, or have otherwise defective planchets. Luckily, this example (which I bought exactly 30 years ago) has a nice almost defect-free planchet and pretty, deep-chocolate color. Your comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I find coins from this time period to be amazing. This is a beautiful looking coin; thanks for sharing.
Nice coin! I like the late die state - all those die chips and cracks. Definitely a quite low amount of ED than most available examples.
Thank you all for your comments. Much appreciated. Yes, both 1799 and 1804 are considered scarce dates. As I mentioned, the total population of 1804's is 1200, give or take, while that of 1799 is considered to be lower. Strictly speaking therefore one may say these dates are not rare; but, they are very desirable to collectors. As opposed to cents of the years 1794-1814 for which typically many varieties exist for most years, for 1799 only two collectible varieties (S-189 and S-189) exist and for 1804 only one (S-266). This increases the appeal of these two dates. I am still missing a suitable 1799. However, at the price levels for nice examples of this date, that will probably continue to be the case for some time....
