U.S. large cents, minted from 1793-1857, have long been popular with collectors. The cover of the September 1964 issue of Coins magazine showed an artful spread of these coins. It was highlighted by a 1793 Flowing Hair wreath cent from a then-upcoming sale of the Louis Helfenstein collection by Lester Merkin, slated for Aug. 20, 1964, in New York. The Coins cover image was reproduced from the Merkin auction catalog.
“Out of a collection of 350 or so coins which are being offered for sale,” Helfenstein noted, “only six are of less than mint state condition and even all of these are in the condition census.”
To go along with the auction report, the magazine featured an article on large cents by regular contributor Robert Obojski.
“The Large Cent has probably
