1786 Non Vi Virtute Vici copper. Breen-977, Musante GW-7, Baker-13, W-5730. Small Head. VF Detail—Tooled (PCGS).An admittedly imperfect but more than acceptable example of this classic early American rarity. In fact, only the most extensive and advanced colonial or Washingtoniana collections tend to have an example of this type and it has long been considered an important entry in any cabinet. The initial impression is remarkably satisfying, fully commensurate with a nice Very Fine, as the surfaces are generally glossy and exhibit a pleasant steely brown patina. Closer examination reveals patches of pitting and series of old abrasions across each side that were likely laid down long ago in an ill-advised effort to smooth out the roughness. This said, the efforts interfered very little with the overall sharpness of the piece. The details on this issue are always soft, particularly at the central reverse, but this piece retains substantial sharpness for the type with respectable definition throughout. The centering is rather good as well, but with dentils off the edge beneath the obverse portrait and around the reverse from 8:00 to 12:00. Opposing rim areas show long sawtooth dentils and even a thin arc of unstruck planchet. The legends and date are complete, invitingly sharp and even.<p> <p>Precious few examples are believed to exist, and indeed, a survey of past appearances tends to reveal many repeat offerings (over long periods of years) of the same small handful of examples. Most have the detail of Very Fine to Extremely Fine, as does this one, with a couple of outliers at each end of the grading spectrum. The finest known appears to be the Mills-Jenks-Eliasberg specimen, which is remarkable in every respect. In all, it is believed that just 25 to 30 are known and several are held in institutional collections where they are likely to remain, these include the ANS, Colonial Williamsburg and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, likely among others.<p> <p>There have been a few offerings of this type in recent years due to the unusual dispersal of several highly important collections of colonial coins, but historically, offerings have been relatively few and far between and there is no reason to think that this wont be the norm once again, in short order.From the Archangel Collection. Earlier, from our (Stacks) sale of the Donald Groves Collection, November 1974, lot 333. Possibly earlier from New York Stamp and Coins sale of April 1900, lot 887.
