COLLECTOR CHUCK HECK SELLING 1794 CENTS

Collector Homer Downing pedigreed coins to his collection by using yellow paint to mark his initial HD from the first and last letters in HUNDRED on the edge device as shown on this 1794 Liberty Cap, Sheldon 47 cent.

Florida collector Chuck Heck has been a numismatic hobbyist for more than 50 years, dedicating his focus primarily on United States large cents.

For nearly two decades, Heck has concentrated his acquisition efforts on the die marriages of 1794 Liberty Cap cents.

Now, Heck says, its time for him to part with his cherished coins and see that they find homes with collectors who will enjoy owning them as much as he has.

Heck’s collection of 1794 Liberty Cap cent die marriages by die states, many with prominent pedigrees, will cross the auction block Feb. 12 in a sale conducted by Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers. “This is not a sad time,” says Heck. “It is simply my time. I get to see my collection go to my close friends and it is being sold by close friends. I have had the pleasure to walk this journey with giants.”

Heck’s 1794 cent collection totals 103 coins, with at least one of each of the 58 numbered Sheldon die marriages as attributed in Early American Cents (later retitled Penny Whimsy) by William H. Sheldon. There’s also an example of the “semi-unique” noncollectible NC-4 variety.

Heck credits noted collector, researcher and author John W. Adams with introducing him to the nuances of 1794 large cents. A number of coins in Heck’s collect­ion were once among Adams’ holdings.

At the 2001 EAC convention, Heck teamed up with fellow EAC members Bim Gander, Dan Trollan and Jon Warshawsky to form the Boys of 94 — an assemblage of large cents collectors with an affinity for 1794 cent marriages.

It was then that die states and pedigrees began to hold special meaning for Heck.

“Purchase a nice-looking coin and you are likely also purchasing a piece of history that comes with an interesting pedigree,” he noted. Heck explains that nine coins in his 1794 large cent collection carry the Adams pedigree. Eight of the nine coins were included in the 1982 Adams fixed-price list prepared by Bowers and Ruddy Galleries.

Six coins in Heck’s collection were once in the famous William Wallace Hays Collection, and some of those are plated in Hays’ 1893 book on 1794 cents.

Three coins have yellow paint embedded in the H and D of HUNDRED in the lettered edge, indicating ownership by the famous Homer K. Downing (the letters, of course, representing his initials).

Seven coins have white paint markings around the edge that were used by W.W. Hays to indicate Dr. Edward Maris’ attributions for pieces in his collection.

One coin, the Sheldon 36 coin, described as “Very Good 10,” has the George H. Clapp pedigree, which is very difficult to obtain, according to Heck.

“It’s difficult because Clapp donated his first line collection to the American Numismatic Society in New York City and his second line collection to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh,” Heck says. “The vast majority of Clapp-owned specimens are in museums. Very few are available to collectors.”

Heck also makes it very clear that the coins have brought more to him than the pleasure of ownership.

“I got lucky! I spoke to [professional numismatist] Tony Terranova and he gave me the best advice on how to focus my collecting interests,” Heck said. “Having coin dealer friends like Chris McCawley, Bob Grellman, Doug Bird, Steve Ellsworth, Greg Hannigan, Mark Borckardt, Vicken Yegparian, John Kraljevich and so many others certainly made collecting easier. And having collector friends like John Adams, Jack Robinson, Walt Husak, Al Boka, and Denis Loring — five really crazy 1794 collectors — well, that helps, too!

To read the complete article, see:
Collector prepares to ‘say goodbye’ to coins after decades of collecting (www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/12/heck-1794-large-cents-crossing-auction-block.all.html)

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