1808 Classic Head Cent -- NGC MS67 BN

Finest Certified for the Issue. This is truly an outstanding example of one of the most conditionally challenging design types in all of U.S. numismatics. Highly lustrous bluish-steel and rose-brown with a faint wisp of darker steel toning at the cap above the letters RT in LIBERTY. The surfaces are satiny and the luster is unbroken. A beautiful example of the popular, yet challenging "Turban Head" cent. Produced for only seven years from 1808 through 1814, the Classic Head cent design is the work of German-born engraver John Reich. Known for years among numismatists as the Turban Head cent (based on the name popularized by Edouard Frossard in his 1879 monograph), the more familiar Classic Head name used today actually predates Frossard's description and is attributed to Ebenezer Locke Mason, Jr. in 1868. Regardless of the exact circumstances of its design and replacement, the Classic Head series is one of the shortest among early coppers from the United States Mint. This first year 1808 is just such a coin and would make an impressive addition to the finest type or variety set. CDN Retail Price Guide...$78,000.