The most expensive cent in the Early Cents Auctions offering of the exceptional Del & Larry Bland Collection of 1794 Cents was a Sheldon 68 1794 Liberty Cap, Head of 1795 cent graded Mint State 62 brown by Numismatic Guaranty Co. that realized $186,000.

The cataloger observed, “Frosty mint luster shows through in protected areas and the reverse fields are slightly reflective,” adding “just a touch of rub on the highest points from mint state,” before noting that it was previously removed from a Professional Coin Grading Service slab graded About Uncirculated 58.

Also noted, “The only identifying mark is a small patch of microscopic planchet roughness between the U in UNITED and the adjacent ribbon end.”

It has a provenance that goes back to 1899 when it was owned by J. Sanford Saltus. A yellow collector mark on the edge, reading “HD,” indicates that it was once part of the Homer K. Downing Collection, and more recently it was offered at Heritage’s 2014 auction of the Larry A. Bland Collection at the Florida United Numismatists convention where it brought $235,000. That entry stated that fewer than 40 examples of the variety are known today.

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