1795 Liberty Cap Half Cent, About Unc.-58 (PCGS/CAC)
Cohen 1: Lettered Edge, Perfect Tan, Nearly Uncirculated

Cohen 1, Breen 1 - Letter I in date in place of 1, with pole. Lettered edge. (Rarity 2). Manley Die State 2.0, Breen State IV with reverse die break in dentils outside of ED joining four dentils, and a slight bulge visible about AME.

This is a nearly perfect AU-58 with choice reddish-tan coloration, and only faint luster breaks at the highest points of the design. A few trivial obverse planchet voids are visible in the field left of the cap, on Liberty's forehead, and in the field off of her chin. The most noticeable contact marks are still insignificant, including at the back of Liberty's jaw, and on her lower neck.

PCGS reports eleven 1795 Lettered Edge Half Cents certified AU-58, and seven Mint State coins finer. However, as the PCGS coin numbers for 1795 Lettered Edge Punctuated Date are out of sequence, it is likely that this population data is in error.

Additionally, there can be some crossover in quality from a certified AU-58 to a lower Mint State coin. For example, the Swan-Jung-Hesselgesser PCGS MS-63 (PCGS #10945257) was last sold this past July at $46,000 (Heritage 7/2008: 1494). However, Heritage noted in their description that in their opinion, the coin graded EAC EF45, in stark disagreement with the PCGS grade. I agree with Heritage, as that coin has been cleaned and retoned, and is now less desirable than a true Choice AU, as is offered here.