1794 Large Cents

There were 5 major varieties in 1794 alone, not including countless sub-varieties.

1794 "Head of 1795" in VF-30 have been getting around $2.2-$2.8k for a basic, plain-jane VF30 of a common variety.

Slightly more common "Head of 1794" in VF-30, $1500-$2100 this year in 2 Heritage auctions. That's a good guide for your bidding.

Problem-free coins in NCG/PCGS or sometimes ANACS holders will always be worth more than book, whether you're using Numismedia, CW, or whatever. When you're in a market where 90% or more of coins come back with Details grades, the premium for those problem-free coins is very substantial. A single 1794 "head of 1794" in "low collector grade" F-12 will still hit your wallet to the tune of $800 to $1200.

When you start getting into varieties, those prices become mere suggestions, and records get shattered by die variety collectors, etc.

A popular but extremely rare variety, the Starred Reverse, of which 2 are known to exist by PCGS in VF-30, sold in August of last year at S&B auction for "only" $129,250.00. The finest known is an AU-50 example, a single coin "book valued" at around $632.5k but that would probably bring $750k to $1m+ on the auction block if it ever was offered for sale.

That being said, with this sort of coin, in the grade you seek, don't buy anything not in a PCGS, NGC or ANACS holder unless you can afford to gamble your investment and not care if you lose your money. There are people, some here, too, on these forums, that can get away with picking up raw early copper, but they have years and years of experience and tons of reference material, and lots of hands-on. Someone who is new to EAC is likely to get in trouble quickly with raw early copper.

If you are interested in this area, I highly recommend that you join EACS, it's not that expensive and has some of the most knowledgeable people in numismatics on its roster.

Yes, as has been detailed well here, varieties can count for a lot in 1794s, and thus the difference between price guides and hammer prices.

Furthermore, condition is tricky with big old coppers, and the TPGs don't always get it right - though the general trend is that they are getting better. Look for an EAC grade if you can, almost all coins will have a net grade and the few that don't will command a serious premium.

I would go to a show and find the big copper dealers and talk to them and look at their wares. You can get deals at auctions, but they're definitely hard to find. It's almost always a good bet to look at a coin (or a few - or a lot!) in person. Most of the big copper dealers will give you an honest opinion and seeing and handling the coins in person will help your understanding significantly.

Getting back to the original question about 179x coins in problem free condition. I love these old coppers but based on my limited budget I needed to make some compromises. Here's what I did. I purchased some 1794s in details grade (most of the 1794s being sold would grade details). I also bought a 1796 problem free coin for comparison. I paid so much more for the 1796 based on the BN grade but the net grade is much lower than the 1794 details coins I own. I have both details and RB and my take on this is that I prefer a details coin that is graded higher details because of a technicality rather than a BN 179x coin.

OK, maybe this makes a difference - I'm a collector and not interested in resale as a dealer.

Just my opinion of course.

Example of Details



Example of BN

Sorry, yes - BN not RB

Ad I recall, the pound was worth a lot more back then, maybe closer to $5. Must have been quite a cent!

I fell in love with 1794 Large Cents last year, I own a couple now, only AG/G though. Since they've priced me out of the market on most of them, I collect the next best thing, literature on them. At the EAC convention this past spring, (my first) I was talking with Chuck Heck (EAC member and member of the boyz of 94 club) he told me they used to give 1794 low grades away to the younger members all the time, but now it's just not feasible, as even AG coins are close to $100 or even more now. Sure wish I had put away a stack of them 10 years ago.

A wonderful and enlightening discussion. I've pushed my EAC buying back to 1802 and I'm only missing two dates after that. Those earlier are so top of the line blue chip that I just can't consider purchasing any of them with problems (usually corrosion). They far exceed my own maximum spending limit of $200 for non-TPG purchases. With only a few exceptions I keep that limitation and only buy +$200 coins in TPGs.

I do buy a few 'type coin' series that I believe I know well beyond that limitation in raw state, but I don't count EACs as one of those series.

When I'm putting (what I consider) a larger sum into a single coin I always keep in mind that at some point either I or my heirs will sell the coin. If the coin is lovely it will always garner interest and desire. The more collectors who would want the coin, the greater chance that it will maintain value.

Even though the early EAC in no problem TPGs are fought over and garner considerably higher prices and much greater interest I look at that as a primary reason to keep my patience and wait for those superior examples.

When I look at the coins in my collection I want each of them to be good reasons for keeping a box of drool rags close at hand.

Buy what YOU like. I somewhat regret selling a VF details 1795 because you could see pinscratches under a loupe. It was a nice coin in-hand.

I say this because of liquidating an estate collection of modern proofs. None of the heirs wanted them. They had value for the gold eagles, not because they were collectable. The same is true of 1794 cents. What's an heir going to do with them? They could end up in a yard sale or a dumpster and you can't stop them. I lost track of the number of trips to the transfer station carrying Dad's treasure heap.