1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 33.36-T.3, W-3905. Rarity-8. Draped Bust Left. EF-40 (PCGS).

148.3 grains. A significant rarity, discovered in 1965 by Ted Craige and featuring a reverse die that was previously unknown and still found in no other combinations. Only one additional specimen has come to light in the ensuing decades and it is a very rough and low grade piece. This outstanding coin has light golden-brown surfaces and solid EF detail with a well centered strike. Some light natural planchet granularity is noted in a few places, mostly at the centers where the strike was soft. Obverse is choice with nice even color, the reverse a bit more mottled with a few areas of darker color, but overall free of notable marks or any significant post-strike defects. A very attractive coin to go along with its extreme rarity and important history.

PCGS# 917728. NGC ID: 2B2X.

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From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Ted Craige; Pine Tree Rare Coin Auction's 1975 EAC Sale, February 1975, lot 185; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Frederick B. Taylor Collection, March 1987, lot 2594; Heritage's sale of the Donald G. Partrick Collection, November 2020, lot 44337. Plated in the Whitman Encylopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins, p. 131. Also plated in Randy Clark "The Identification and Classification of Connecticut Coppers 1785-1788," pp. 393, 486, 608.