1787 Fugio Copper. Pointed Rays. Newman 11-A, W-6780. Rarity-6. UNITED Above, STATES Below. MS-63 BN (PCGS).Glossy medium copper surfaces are hard and tight with a smooth satin texture. The strike is flush to the upper right obverse and lower right reverse borders, affecting only the denticulation. Particularly broad denticulation in the opposite areas, with all devices smartly impressed and crisp. One of the real difference makers in a Fugio collection, Newman 11-A is a great rarity and major variety that exists almost exclusively in Mint State. Virtually all known examples trace their provenance to the Bank of New York Hoard, which contained only 10 or 12 Newman 11-As out of a total of 1,641 Fugio coppers. A few lightly circulated examples are also known, Michael J. Hodder providing an estimate of about 25 coins in all grades in his cataloging for our (Stacks) October 2003 sale of the Ford Collection, Part I. The present example is about as nice as these come, being one of two MS-63 BNs known to PCGS. The other is the Robert Ayers specimen that realized an impressive $32,900 in our August 2013 sale of that collection, lot 1355. A highlight of the colonial and early American coin offerings in this sale, and sure to see spirited bidding among specialists.
