NNP

1811 Mickley Restrike Rarity-7. PCGS graded MS-66 Red & Brown. Frosty original red mellowing to light steel brown with bluish steel toning at stars 8-13, about 50% of the red remaining. The only mark is a small speck of carbon at the dentils below the left edge of star 13. These "unofficial restrikes" are listed on page 94 in the "Redbook." They were produced outside the mint sometime before 1859 by (or for) Joseph J. Mickley. He used old dies that had been sold by the mint for scrap metal decades after their initial use. The obverse die is from the 1811 Cohen-2 variety and the reverse is from the 1802 C-2 marriage. Both dies were heavily rusted at this point but were cleaned up and used to strike about a dozen examples to satisfy collector demand (similar to what was done to produce the 1804 and 1823 "restrike" large cents). The dies were later sold in the Mickley estate sale conducted in 1878, and the buyer of the dies was none other than the U.S. Mint (who obviously came to recognize their earlier error of selling dies that had not been properly defaced). Our grade is MS65 (although some, including Breen, have called them "Proof" strikes, even though the dies are far from "Proof" quality). It doesn't really matter. Certainly one of the best of about a dozen examples known, quite possibly the finest. Plated on page 124 in the second edition of the Cohen book to illustrate the restrike variety, and listed in Breen's condition census on page 317 in his reference. Weight 82.9 grains. The attribution and Missouri Cabinet provenance are shown on the PCGS label. PCGS population 1; the finest graded. (PCGS # 35245) Estimate Value $20,000 - UP Ex Frederick A. Canfield 1934-New Jersey Historical Society, Parke-Bernet Galleries 9/24/1969:85 ($1,300)-Raymond D. Munde-Roger S. Cohen, Jr., Fixed Price List #1 (listed for $2,500) 10/1972-R. Tettenhorst-Missouri Cabinet (Mocab 11.3.1).

Price Realized: $39100

Images and description courtesy of Ira and Larry Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, Los Angeles, CA.

From Goldberg's sale of the Missouri Cabinet Collection, 1/26/2014, lot 105.