1787 Vermont Copper. RR-32, Bressett 12-K, W-2115. Rarity-7+. Bust Right. Overstruck on a Nova Constellatio Copper. VF-25 (PCGS).119.2 grains. A remarkable and enduring rarity among Vermont coppers and the first number added to the series after Ryders 1919 attribution guide. Ryder himself knew of the variety in his lifetime, having acquired the 1921 Whipple Sale coin, but since that achievement came after publication of his attribution guide, the unusually high RR number for a 1787-dated variety, sequenced with the 1788s in fact, is easily understood. As Ryder explained when he released his corrections and additions list in 1921 (quoted in Carlotto):<p><em>A specimen from the Whipple Collection was sold by Mr. Elder, Feb. 23, 1921. Had this variety been known when the list of Vermont coins was compiled, it would have been listed as No. 13, advancing all subsequent numbers.</em><p>When Tony Carlottos outstanding reference <em>The Copper Coins of Vermont</em> was published in 1993, the census for RR-32 stood at just four coins. Since then one other example has been confirmed, but although the current roster has nudged up to five specimens, this is functionally a Rarity-8- rather than a Rarity-7+ variety, as two examples are impounded in institutional collections. The current census reads:<p>1 - <strong>The Ryder-Partrick Specimen.</strong> Ex Thomas L. Elders sale of the Whipple Collection, February 1921, lot 425; Hillyer C. Ryder; John J. Ford, Jr., May 1985; Q. David Bowers Collection; Jon Hanson, March 1988; Donald Groves Partrick; Heritages sale of the Donald Groves Partrick Collection, January 2015 FUN Signature Auction, lot 5822, as NGC/CAC VF-35 BN. The plate coin in both the 2018 reference <em>The Copper Coins of Vermont</em> by Q. David Bowers, p. 64, and the 2020 edition of the <em>Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins</em>, p. 87.<p>2 - <strong>The August Specimen.</strong> Ex Richard August Collection, PCGS VF-25. <strong><em>The present example</em></strong>, and the plate coin for the variety in the 1993 reference <em>The Copper Coins of Vermont</em> by Tony Carlotto, p. 168. In Roy Bonjours April 2005 C4 Newsletter supplement, this piece was ranked second and graded EF-45.<p>3 - <strong>The Syd Martin Specimen</strong><strong>.</strong> Ex unknown party represented by an envelope with Quebec, Can 7/21/06 purchase indication; Mike Wierzba, October 2007; Sydney F. Martin; our sale of the Sydney F. Martin Collection, Part IV, August 2023 Global Showcase Auction, lot 8429, as PCGS Fine Details--Environmental Damage.<p>4 - <strong>The Taylor-Vermont Historical Society Specimen.</strong> Ex Richard Picker, 1962; our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Frederick B. Taylor Collection, March 1987, lot 2092, as F-15/G-4. This is the Bressett plate coin.<p>5 - <strong>The Bennington Museum Specimen.</strong><p>On his envelope included in this offering, Richard August described this coin with pride as, Condition Census / Finest Known. And in terms of overall detail it is, being a tad sharper than the Patrick coin. The strike is typically aligned for the variety, the obverse the better centered of the two sides with traces of denticulation at the upper right and lower borders. The reverse is off center to 7 oclock, border into the letter I in INDE, the seated figures foot, and the digits 17 in the date, denticulation at upper right well inside the border. The peripheral die break on the reverse, above the seated figures head, is plainly evident. The surfaces are smooth in hand with no planchet issues, no sizeable marks, and just a single mentionable spot on the reverse that happens to be light and also fortuitously placed over the seated figures outstretched hand. Some areas of thin patina are noted where a bit of dirt was removed in a few areas decades ago, notably under the bust truncation, around ON and AU on the obverse, and around ET L on the reverse.<p>The four examples we have seen in hand or in photos all seem to have evidence of Nova Constellatio undertype, but the host coin details are stronger on this piece than any other, with the Script US from the undertype plain at central obverse and the all-seeing eye and surrounding rays dominating the central reverse. Though the Partrick coin was cataloged as on a virgin flan, the letters IA from the undertype are plainly visible above RM of VERMON in the catalog photo. This piece and the Partrick coin are quite comparable overall, but the clarity of the undertype make this one the more interesting and appealing piece to us.<p>Missing from just about every great collection of Vermonts imaginable - like Norweb, Ford (who sold his to Dave Bowers in 1985), Hinkley, and others - the life of its punctuationless obverse was perhaps cut short by the meandering die crack seen on all known specimens that may be the reason for RR-32s extreme rarity today. The August specimen is far and away superior to the Syd Martin coin, as well as the impounded Vermont Historical Society specimen, ex Taylor, and it is at least the equal of the Partrick coin in most respects; the latter realized $54,050 in Heritages January 2015 sale. Of course, each of the three examples in private hands is of the utmost significance to advanced Vermont copper enthusiasts. There are very few advanced collections that would not be improved by this coin, either as a representative of an additional extremely rare variety or as an upgrade.PCGS# 916576. BASE PCGS# 560. NGC ID: 2B5B.From the Richard August Collection. The plate coin for the variety in <em>The Copper Coins of Vermont</em> by Tony Carlotto, 1993, p. 168.
