Sharp 1785 RR-2 Landscape Vermont Copper

VERMONTS Spelling

1785 Vermont Copper. Landscape. RR-2, Bressett 1-A, W-2005. Rarity-3. VERMONTS. AU-53 (PCGS).

92.9 grains. Medium tan surfaces show a touch of microgranularity in areas, but they are free of extraneous marks that were not on the flan when the coin was struck. A natural planchet flaw is evident at 9 o'clock on the obverse, obscuring a portion of the letters ON in VERMONTS, and another tiny flaw touches the upper loop of the letter P in PUBLICA. Sharply struck, particularly on the obverse. Some weakness is noted at the letters DEC in DECIMA, but otherwise the reverse is equally as sharp as the obverse with the eye in the center especially crisp. A shallow planchet clip on the reverse between the words STELLA and QUARTA is noted. Struck from an early state of the obverse die with no evidence of the break that would eventually form from the border at the digit 8 in the date. As noted in the 1993 reference The Copper Coins of Vermont by Tony Carlotto, "A nice tan problem free piece is scarce, not rare. They exist in a reasonable amount and command a premium." RR-2 is actually the most plentiful of the 1785-dated varieties in the Vermont copper series. The present coin, the primary Hinkley specimen, is finer than most. Indeed, Dr. Hinkley believed that this coin was Condition Census for the RR-2 dies. The Garrett coin (Garrett I:552, earlier ex Stickney), which is plated in the Carlotto reference, is Mint State. The present example is slightly sharper than Taylor:2054, later the primary Partrick coin, and it is also nicer than Norweb:1264. Similar to Oeschner:1327 and Picker:249, this is an exceptional RR-2 that would do equally well in a type set or specialized collection of Vermont copper varieties. RR-2 is one of two die pairings in this series that correspond to the VERMONTS Guide Book variety. It is not known whether RR-2 or RR-3 was the first Vermont copper variety produced, but both were struck from dies engraved by William H. Coley. Along with Elias Jackson and Daniel Van Voorhis (the latter a well known New York City silversmith), Coley was a partner of Reuben Harmon, Jr. in the Vermont coinage enterprise. Since Coley was still living in New York City in 1785, where he had resided since July of 1783, Carlotto and Christopher R. McDowell suggest that all three 1785-dated Vermont copper varieties (RR-2 VERMONTS, RR-3 VERMONTS, and RR-4 VERMONTIS) may have been struck there. Bowers (2018), however, points to the crudeness of the planchets as evidence that these varieties were produced at Harmon's first mint location in Rupert, Vermont. Indeed, most Landscape varieties in the Vermont copper series are plagued by striations and other planchet defects, which Carlotto attributes to the "re-melting and rolling process." Regardless of where they were made, the two VERMONTS varieties were almost certainly the first produced in the Vermont copper series. Carlotto reports a wide weight range of 90 to 140 grains among survivors from the RR-2 dies, which is below the authorized weight standard of 160 grains as originally specified in Harmon's contract with the General Assembly. This was eventually reduced to 111 grains to enable Harmon to produce the coins at a profit.

PCGS# 800844.

From the Q. David Bowers Collection. Acquired from Anthony Terranova, via trade with Steve Hayden, 2007. Earlier ex William Anton, August 1967; Dr. Robert I. Hinkley; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Dr. Robert I. Hinkley Collection, November-December 2001, lot 2288. The plate coin for the variety in the 2018 reference on Vermont coppers by Q. David Bowers.