1787 Nova Eborac copper. W-5755. Medium Bust, Seated Figure Left. AU-55 (PCGS).147.2 grains. Common enough in low grades for most collectors to have a reasonably good shot at owning one, the 1787 Nova Eboracs are underrated in high grades. This one is superb, with smooth light brown surfaces, choice gloss, and flawless visual appeal. The planchet cutter has left a lip just inside the upper reverse rim, and an S-shaped toning area, perhaps the remnant of a painted attribution mark (Stickney?), is seen below the sprig on the reverse. This choice piece has an outstanding provenance, owned by Matthew A. Stickney before 1873, photographed for use in Sylvester S. Crosby’s <em>The Early Coins of America</em>, and sold in Henry Chapman’s offering of coins from Stickney’s estate in 1907. Even as a particularly choice AU type coin, it will probably see little acclaim, but savvy specialists will see how this coin stands a level or two above even a typical AU Nova Eborac and how its provenance makes it one of the most desirable examples of this type imaginable.PCGS Population: 7; 13 finer.From the Archangel Collection. Earlier, from Stack’s sale of May 1975, lot 466; Henry Chapman’s sale of the Matthew A. Stickney Collection, June 1907, lot 244.
