FINDING MY 1794 S-28 LARGE CENT

 

Last year, I sold my raw 1794 S-31 large cent in EAC 40/25 to help purchase several pedigreed colonial coins that I wanted for my modest collection. I bought the S-31 from Tom Reynolds in 2014. Even though I'm quite fond of my Massachusetts and New Jersey coppers, I really missed having a 1794 large cent in my U.S. type collection!

I decided that my goal would be to find a details or straight graded 1794 large cent in VF-EF. Several months ago, I began to examine hundreds of 1794 large cents online in grades ranging from AG 3 to MS 66, before picking out three finalists. The one that I ended up buying was my top choice.

I stumbled across a wonderful 1794 large cent on MA-Shops (ma-shops.com), being offered for sale by a German dealer. It was described as "USA Liberty Cap Cent 1794 in dieser Qualität sehr selten VF-EF, Randfehler" (Very rare in this quality VF-EF, edge defects). I thought that it was one of the most beautiful 1794 large cents I had ever seen in that grade range.

Joachim Schwiening, a German engineer, created MA-Shops as an online marketplace for rare coins and other numismatic collectables in 2005. It features a network of certified dealers.

I decided to contact the German dealer, Dr. Andre Hansen, to inquire about this coin. I felt sheepish in doing so due to my lack of German. Although I've studied six languages, German was not one of them! The raw 1794 large cent that I had my eye on was listed without a Sheldon number. I've read several books and numerous articles on 1794 large cents. However, I lacked the expertise to figure out the correct Sheldon number or Early American Copper (EAC) grade when buying an expensive specimen. I needed help and advice from experts!

Initially, I showed pictures of this coin to Ray Williams and Bill Liatys at dinner before our November New Jersey Numismatic Society (NJNS) meeting. Next, I contacted Greg Hannigan and Bill Eckberg, to request their help in evaluating this specimen. Williams and Eckberg recommended that I ask Andre for edge images of this early cent. Hannigan's first impression of the coin was an "EAC grade [of] 30/20 because of the rim bumps but it is nice!" (email from Hannigan, November 20, 2024). He said that he would refer to his books and notes on 1794 large cents and get back to me.

Fortunately for me, Hannigan is one of the top experts on large cents. At the Dan Holmes Collection auction in 2009, Greg purchased the first U.S. large cent to exceed the one million dollar mark!

 

In one of our email exchanges he mentioned "I've owned all of them [1794 large cents] four times personally except for four and put together a complete Sheldon and NC [non-collectable] 1794 collection that cannot be done again." (email from Greg Hannigan, November 21, 2024). He had some excellent follow up questions for me to ask Hansen.

Dr. Hansen sent me three edge images of this specimen and answered my other questions:

 

 

 

Andre was friendly and gracious throughout our email correspondence. He was born in 1972 and started collecting coins in 1990. Andre collects pre-1945 coins from around the world with a focus on high quality. He earned his Ph.D. in natural science with a biochemistry topic at the University of Leipzig in 2002. Hansen started to become a professional coin dealer in 2002 and is a PCGS authorized dealer. Andre is a member of The Association of German Coin Dealers (https://www.vddm.de/) and the Federation of European Coin Dealers Associations (https://www.fenap.com/). (synopsis of email from Andre Hansen, November 23, 2024).

Hannigan and Eckberg confirmed my 1794 large cent is an S-28 R-2. Greg added "My final grade is 30/20… the surfaces are original if not that there are few rim bumps it would [straight] holder 30 maybe 35." (email from Hannigan, November 22, 2024).

I felt such joy and excitement when I purchased this coin on Friday night, November 22nd !

From Frankfurt to JFK, my coin finally arrived on a snowy day five days before Christmas. I was shocked by how beautiful it was in person. The golden brown color of this large cent is extraordinary.

What an adventure this has been! During my childhood, Tewes Rohlfs, my maternal grandfather of German ancestral origins, gave me an 1851 large cent and a small leather pouch filled with Fractional currency from the Civil War. These gifts helped me develop a passion for numismatics. I've come full circle. Now I own an early U.S. large cent that was mailed to me from Germany.

Acknowledgements:
Dr. Andre Hansen kindly gave me permission to use the obverse and reverse images of my coin from the MA-Shops website to accompany this article. Separately, he sent me edge pictures of my specimen which are also shown. Special thanks to Greg Hannigan, Bill Eckberg, Ray Williams and Bill Liatys for helping me evaluate my 1794 S-28 large cent.

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web