1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 33.12-W.3, W-3525. Rarity-6+. Draped Bust Left. AU-50 (PCGS).
129.9 grains. Rich chocolate brown on the obverse, while the reverse has a slightly greenish olive tone and some of the highlights are a bit golden. The obverse is flecked with minor natural flaws, while fewer of similar character are noted on the reverse. An old scrape crosses the upper reverse, affecting Liberty's head, the adjacent cinquefoil and the top of the pole. It is the only notable handling imperfection. Essentially perfect centering on both sides with all peripheral details comfortably away from the rims. Struck rather sharply and evenly throughout. This obverse is known to have been used in five marriages, and the reverse in four. This is one of the later of the obverse pairings and it exhibits cracks through AUCTORI, the face of the effigy, the drapery and at the E of CONNEC. This is a later use of this reverse with a prominent crack connecting ET to the rim. Even taking the noted scrape into consideration, this is clearly the finest known of this rare variety. Heritage seems to have only sold a single coin, the Frederick Taylor-Partrick coin, graded VF-20 by NGC. This is far finer than those in our archives, and better than the 1975 EAC sale coin, Edward Hessberg's and others we have seen. The Canfield coin at the ANS seems to be the second sharpest but has large and unsightly obverse graffiti. "Outstanding" was how this was subtitled in our Ford sale in 2005, and it is indeed the outstanding example of this rare die pairing. Bidders appreciated every bit of it in 2005, as the lot realized a $22,000 hammer price.
PCGS# 685182.
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From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part IX, May 2005, lot 374.

Estimate: $15000