1799 Lage Cent - 1799 1C PCGS FR02 CAC. This circulated 1799 Large Cent is identifiable by date and type. The surfaces show moderate porosity and extensive wear, in keeping with the grade. The devices are chocolate brown over darker fields. The marks on the center of the reverse are scuff marks on the holder not the coin. The CAC sticker indicates that the coin is a premium quality piece and fully merits the assigned grade. 

Since the coin is a regular date piece, it is identified as the S-189 variety. LIBERTY is evenly and closely spaced in its usual position. On the reverse, the E in UNITED and the F in OF are heavily recut at the crossbars. There is also a die chip between the E in ONE and the T in CENT. This variety has an R2+ rarity rating.

The Drape Bust cent was first struck in 1796. It was the second design type for the year. The design by Robert Scot was from a drawing by Gilbert Stuart that was first used in 1795 for a silver dollar. 

The design shows in profile a draped bust of Liberty facing to the right and slightly upwards. . Her hair is tied in the back with a ribbon, but most of it flows down behind her shoulder. Above her head is LIBERTY, and the date is below. A portrait of Ann Bingham is the source of the design. John Eckstein translated this drawing to models for Engraver Robert Scot. Evidently Eckstein made the models poorly, which might explain why Stuarts family refused to acknowledge his role in the coinage design. The reverse shows the denomination ONE CENT enclosed in an open laurel wreath that is tied at the bottom with a ribbon. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the wreath, and the fraction 1/100 is below. Dentils are at the edge on both sides, and the coin has a plain edge. 

Scot was born in 1744 in Edinburgh, Scotland or England. (Documentary evidence is lacking as to where he was born.)  He was trained as a watchmaker in England and learned engraving afterwards. He moved to the United States in 1777, where he worked as an engraver of plates, bills of exchange, and office scales. During the Revolution, he was an engraver of paper money. In 1780 he was made the State Engraver of Virginia. He moved to Philadelphia the next year. He was appointed Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793 by David Rittenhouse, Mint Director. Scots ability to make dies was limited, and he was advanced in years with failing eyesight. His work was somewhat less than that done in Europe at the time, and Scot was criticized for its poor quality. He was responsible for designs of most of Americas first coins.

All 1799 cents are rare and sought after by collectors and investors. They are especially prized by collectors of large cents because of their scarcity. Many are found with altered dates and/or are electrotype copies. (All USRCI coins are certified by one of the major grading services and are guaranteed genuine and authentic.) In its population report, as of December 2012, CAC has confirmed 1, the present coin, in FR02 with 8 better.