1804 1C Draped Bust Large Cent, S-266c PCGS VF25

Rare S-266c Variety -- Breen Die State IV!

Rare S-266c variety of the 1804 1c Draped Bust Large Cent. This piece is the Breen Die State IV. The late die state with rim breaks over RTY on the obverse and over MERIC on the reverse. Take a look at the images of this rarity, with the striking rim breaks. Issue has an original mintage of 96,500.

An AU55 (Gold CAC sticker) example with the same diagnostics (S-266c Breen Die State IV) sold at Stacks Bowers in 2013 for $223,250.00.

Ann Willing Bingham, the alleged model for the Draped Bust coin design.

Legend tells us that the Draped Bust motif of Liberty was created by the noted portrait artist Gilbert Stuart, possibly at the insistence of George Washington himself. Stuart's model is said to have been Ann Willing Bingham, a Philadelphia socialite considered among the most beautiful women of her time. Stuart's rendering was transferred to plaster by artist John Eckstein, followed by coinage dies executed by mint chief engraver Robert Scot. We are told that Stuart felt the execution of his image into a coin was comparable to one performed by a hangman, resulting in the murdering of the artistry of his work. That is why he disowned his connection with the coin's design and most people today assume it was completely the work of Scot.