1787 Massachusetts Cent. Ryder 4-J, W-6120. Rarity-7. VG-10 (PCGS).147.3 grains. Light golden brown surfaces with a pale greenish accent suggest an old cleaning that partially retoned, though PCGS makes no note of this. A few scratches are seen on both sides, as is a series of natural planchet flaws on the obverse passing through the lower left quadrant. Evenly struck with good detail for the grade assigned. Though imperfect, this is a very rare coin that most collectors never have the chance to own. We have handled just two in recent memory. One was the Michael Demling coin that appeared in our March 2018 sale, that a reappearance of the former Norweb-Partrick specimen that had been off the market for many years before being sold in the 2015 sale of the Partrick coins. The other was the absolute finest known example (MS-64 BN) that sold in our July 2009 sale, for $97,750. There have been no others in our sales in the past decade. Indeed, this variety was missing from the Hillyer Ryder collection, one of the finest ever assembled, and it was even unknown to him, as the variety was not published until 1958. It was also missing from the cabinets of Garrett, Taylor, Ford and Newman. An important rarity in the Massachusetts copper series, one that few collectors will ever have the chance to own, yet it remains necessary to complete this challenging series.From the Twin Leaf Collection of Connecticut & Massachusetts Coppers. Earlier ex Anthony Terranova, 2012.
