1787 New Jersey Copper. Maris 52-i, W-5280. Rarity-3. Outlined Shield, No Sprig Above Plow. AU-55 (PCGS).
153.0 grains. An unusually nice example of a variety that sometimes flies under the radar, despite being very challenging in grades better than VF. Sedate milk chocolate brown with some thin patina on the high points. Well centered, fully struck, and remarkably free of marks in the fields. Very even in appearance, a sharp and desirable piece. There were three of these in the 2019 E Pluribus Unum offering, all far nicer than normal. The best of them, graded AU-53 (PCGS), brought $3,600. As we wrote in the August 2022 Syd Martin catalog: "The primary E Pluribus Unum coin, graded PCGS AU-53, was a new addition to the Condition Census and probably deserves a high ranking therein. The published SHI Census is led by the Maris-Garrett coin at AU-, followed by six EF pieces (including this one) that may represent just five discrete coins. The O'Donnell coin … is ranked fifth and was sold as NGC AU-50 in March 2021. It was as nice (or nicer) than other recently offered examples of this variety graded NGC AU-55 and PCGS AU-55 in Heritage's sales of May 2022 and January 2022, respectively." Syd's coin was the Boyd-Ford coin, ranked sixth. Graded EF-40 (PCGS), it brought $2,160.
PCGS# 766270.
From the E Pluribus Unum Collection.

Estimate: $4000