1795 Reeded Edge

The 1795 Reeded Edge large cent is one of the rarest and most valuable coins in all of American numismatics. Only eight examples are known to exist. Cataloged as Sheldon-79, it is the ultimate "stopper" coin for large cent collectors: the one variety that prevents sets from being completed, the one coin that most collectors will never own regardless of budget or patience.

Reeded edges (fine vertical grooves around the circumference) were standard on silver and gold coins, where they prevented clipping. On a copper cent, reeding had no obvious anti-counterfeiting purpose. Why the Mint produced a reeded-edge large cent is unknown. The coin may have been experimental, or cent planchets may have been processed through edge equipment intended for another denomination. The dies used for the Reeded Edge are unique and were not paired with any other edge type.

The finest known example, a VG10, became the first large cent to sell for over one million dollars when it brought $1,265,000 at Goldberg's September 2009 sale of the Dan Holmes Collection. The condition census runs from there: VG10, VG8 (impounded at the American Numismatic Society), G6, two coins at G4, FR2, and two additional pieces in lower condition. No Reeded Edge 1795 has been certified above Very Good. A coin that would be unremarkable in VG for most dates becomes a seven-figure rarity in this variety.

Dr. William Sheldon's numbering system made S-79 the defining stopper of the early large cent series. Collections have been assembled over decades, lacking only this number. When one of the eight known specimens changes hands, the event reshapes the market for early copper. The 1795 Reeded Edge is the coin that large cent specialists measure their collections against, even if most will never hold one.