1788 Vermont Copper. RR-26, Bressett 16-T, W-2190. Rarity-5+. Bust Right. EF Details--Environmental Damage (PCGS).119.3 grains. One of the finest survivors of this elusive die marriage, one recognized by Vermont specialists as being one of the major stoppers in the series in any grade better than Fine. Nice chestnut brown on the obverse, lighter ruddy tan on the reverse. Finely granular on both sides but still even, glossy, and attractive throughout. The obverse is ideally centered and problem free, showing just a trivial striation through VER and a little dig over the adjacent M. The reverse is a bit more granular than the obverse, but sharp and problem free. Its centering allows the tops of the date digits to be plain and visible. The heavy bisecting die crack across the reverse, the death knell of this die that made this variety a rarity, is bold and shows good contrast. The overall visual appeal is very, very strong.<p>The Ezra Cole:1182 coin, last sold in the 2015 Partrick sale as NGC XF-40, is generally acknowledged as the finest known example from these dies. It brought $14,100 a decade ago. The Ford coin, whose reverse served as the Ryder plate, was graded Choice Very Fine in the 2003 Ford I sale, bringing $12,650. Both of those are undoubtedly top five and probably represent two of the best three. This may be the other one. The best weve offered in the last 20 years might be the Q. David Bowers - Syd Martin coin, a PCGS VF-20, which was a very attractive example though more worn and with less date than this one. It brought $10,200 in August 2023. The PCGS VF-25 Norm Peters coin we sold in 2021 brought almost the same sum ($10,800) and was of comparable quality. All others weve had since Ford were graded Fine or below, mostly with significant problems. This would upgrade most advanced collections.PCGS# 800840. BASE PCGS# 563. NGC ID: 2B5D.From the Richard August Collection.
