1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 1.2-mm, W-2730. Rarity-7. Mailed Bust Right, Muttonhead, Topless Liberty. VF-35 (PCGS).115.7 grains. The Breen Plate Coin. The so-called “Second Muttonhead, ” reported by Robert Vlack only in 1961 despite the very distinct and distinctly different reverse from the regular, more common Muttonhead 1.2-C die pairing. This Muttonhead is also peculiar for the completeness of the obverse design; though the central strike is a bit soft, the legends, hair, laurel leaves and lower parts of the bust are sharp and as made, before die wear and polishing necessitated a strengthening or addition of certain design elements. Surfaces are a mostly smooth, dark olive brown, the fields a bit lighter ruddy brown, especially on the obverse. An area of darker patina is noted in the area bounded by obverse effigy’s chin, neck, mail, and the final C of CONNEC. When acquired by Robert, he documented this 1.2-mm as the “Finest of Four known, One of Three Verified.” A few more have been discovered since the Taylor sale, though this is still a solid Rarity-7. The Collection SLT coin, graded Fine-15 at the time, though decidedly sharper and in a slightly earlier die state than this coin but with some pits and edge bruising, brought $109, 250, the first Connecticut Copper to break the $100, 000 barrier and the third highest auction price paid for a Connecticut copper, after Newman’s 1787 1.4-WW and Keller’s 1785 African Head 4.2-F.6, both Rarity-8 die marriages and storied types. This example of 1.2-mm is less sharp than SLT’s but far choicer, and which one is the finest known will likely depend on which coin’s owner you ask! This is one of the iconic rarities in the series and one that always turns heads when offered for auction; Stack’s Bowers has been fortunate to offer 3 different examples in the last nine years, one of them twice.From the Robert M. Martin Collection. Ex Stack’s Sale of the Massachusetts Historical Society Collection, March 29, 1973, lot 44; Bowers and Merena’s Sale of the Frederick B. Taylor Collection, March 26-28, 1987, lot 2395.