Heritage to Auction Jules Reiver’s Unique 1797 Large Cent (NC-7 B-30) in January A unique Large Cent, discovered by numismatist Jules Reiver in 1968, will be included in the Heritage Numismatic Auctions in January
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - Dallas, Texas: An apparently unique Large Cent, discovered by numismatist Jules Reiver in 1968, will be included among the thousands of fascinating varieties being offered by Heritage Numismatic Auctions at their January 23-28 Signature Auction featuring The Jules Reiver Collection. The Auction is being held at Heritage’s world headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The Signature Auction will contain more than 4,000 varieties from Mr. Reiver’s collection, with thousands more offered in the accompanying Online Session.
“Since Jules Reiver discovered this previously unknown variety in 1968,” noted Senior Cataloger Mark Borckardt, “not a single additional example has come to light – and hundreds of specialists have been searching through thousands of coins. In fact, there has never even been a rumor of another. While there have been many discovery pieces in numismatics over time, they are typically followed by additional examples as numismatists closely examine every possible coin. Even more atypically, Mr. Reiver left us an extremely detailed description of the discovery and his thought process.”
“Jules Reiver’s collection is, in a word, astonishing,” explained Heritage President Greg Rohan. “This consummate numismatist sought varieties when ‘experts’ didn’t often bother, and then convinced a new generation of numismatists why they should care. His level of understanding was supreme, his eye for detail unparalleled, and his willingness to share information extraordinary. And so friendly was he to the community that the name ‘Jules’ was invoked by numismatists from coast to coast when arguments needed to be settled.”
Mr. Reiver’s detailed description of his discovery experience appeared in the November 1968 issue of Penny-Wise: "Not too long ago I was attributing a 1797 large cent which grades almost Fine. The date is close. The planchet is dark and reasonably smooth. All of the devices and legends are sharp except 97, the point of the bust, UN of UNITED, and OF. In these areas the dies are obviously clashed or sinking. Evidence of die clashing is plainly seen from the neck to the jaw, in front of the eye, and behind the head. There is a triangular break through the T toward the R in LIBERTY. The R has a straight tail. On the reverse, there are five berries on each side of the wreath. There are stems, the right of which, if extended, would touch the left tip of A and bisect the C; and there is an engraver's mark from the fraction to the right ribbon. A curved break extends from the top serif of the crossbar in the E of AMERICA and passes through the uppermost serif of the E towards the R.
"Looking through the key (Table 12) in Penny Whimsy, I eliminated all varieties for attribution except the S-141. The reverse on my coin, however, did not match the reverse of the S-141. The tip of the leaf under the D reaches only the upright on the S-141, whereas on my coin the tip of the leaf reached the center of the D. So I was back where I started.
