1857 Braided Hair Cent, Small Date -- PCGS MS66BN

Pop 4. None Numerically Finer at either service. This SUPERB PR large cent has bold eye appeal. The devices are sharp, with detail in Liberty’s hair, being well-defined. The deep chocolate patina is consistent throughout. This piece is nicely struck, with broad, high rims typical of the issue and offers very pleasant eye appeal. DID YOU KNOW? By the end of 1856, the large cent was doomed. As one of his last official duties, just weeks before the inauguration of James Buchanan, President Franklin Pierce signed the large cent's death warrant, the Act of February 21, 1857. It called for a new, smaller cent produced of a copper alloy that included 12% nickel. Regulations issued in April 1857 dictated that the new cents would be paid out after May 25 in exchange for old large cents or the fractional foreign coins whose legal tender status had been ended up the same February act. When the news was announced, nostalgia set in, as Americans of all ages recalled the bright red copper cents of their youth. Large cents began to be saved and collected, setting off a seismic event that was the genesis of American coin collecting as we know it. PCGS Price Gide...$12,500