LIKELY FINEST KNOWN BROWNING 1
Browning 1 : Unused obverse die of 1815 overdated for 1818. Strong overdate with flag of 5 showing in upper loop of last 8. Reverse scroll begins under upright of D and ends between AM of AMERICA. I of PLURIBUS under right side of T. Dies clashed, reverse die exhibits a prominent and eventually terminal crack from the upper rim through the right side of the second T in STATES, the scroll left of I in PLURIBUS, the eagle’s beak, the left side of the shield, down to the lowest arrow shaft above the left side of 5.
Of the ten die pairs known for 1818 Quarters, two employed a previously unused 1815 obverse die engraved by John Reich, which was later over-dated by Robert Scot for use in 1818. Browning 1 is the first use of this over-dated obverse, and it exhibits a strong over-date with the 5 under-digit clearly visible. Browning 3 is a later use of the obverse die, now lapped to erase nearly all evidence of the 5.
The James A. Stack Collection is a provenance well known to include many of the finest known Early American coins. His Quarter and Half Dollars were sold in a single owner sale by Stack’s in March 1975, and included three of the finest surviving 1818/5 Capped Bust Quarters – this finest known Browning 1 as lot 12, and two exceptional examples of Browning 3, lots 13 and 14, which are also both certified by PCGS and CAC as MS66, #34980724 and #02808166.
Coins struck from both 1818/5 die pairs are regularly available in Mint State, and enough high grade, unattributed 1818 Quarters have now been attributed as Browning 3, that high grade B.3s should be priced as type coins for the series of Capped Bust, Large Size Quarters. However, examples of Browning 1 continue to bring premiums across all grades as the strongest examples of the 1818/5 overdate.
PCGS #34980723
Provenance
James A. Stack; Stack’s, March 1975, lot 12 @ $2,700 as “Brilliant Uncirculated gem”; later Bowers & Merena, August 2000, lot 1255 @ $17,250 as PCGS MS66; Joe O’Connor (OCNUMIS), privately 2004; “Boston” Collection of Capped Bust Quarters.