The magnitude of the one-bond coupling constant between C(1) and H(1) in 2,3-anhydro-O-furanosides has been shown to be sensitive to the stereochemistry at the anomeric center. A panel of 24 compounds was studied and in cases where the anomeric hydrogen is trans to the epoxide moiety, (1)J[C(1)-H(1)] = 163-168 Hz; and when this hydrogen is cis to the oxirane ring, ((1)J[C(1)-H(1)] = 171-174 Hz. In contrast, for 2,3-anhydro-S-glycosides, the size of the (1)J[C(1)-H(1)] is not sensitive to C(1) stereochemistry. Computational studies on all four methyl 2,3-anhydro-O-furanosides (5-8) demonstrated that (1)J[C(1)-H(1)] was inversely proportional to the length of the C(1)-H(1) bond. A previously reported equation, which relates C(1)-H(1) bond distance and atomic charges to (1)J[C(1)-H(1)] magnitudes, could be used to accurately predict the J values in the alpha-lyxo (5) and beta-ribo (8) isomers. In contrast, with the beta-lyxo (6) and alpha-ribo isomers (7), this equation underestimated the size of these coupling constants by 10-20 Hz.