1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 9-R, W-2860. Rarity-4+. Mailed Bust Left, IND,1787 over 1788. EF-40 (PCGS).127.3 grains. A Clark Reverse Plate Coin. Deep chestnut brown with olive highlights, glossy surfaces display a hint of original mint luster in the protected areas. Shallow planchet flaws around obverse periphery softens the tops of some letters, while two roughly vertical areas of planchet flakiness around IND and LIB wholly miss the 1787/8 overdate, which is boldly defined and clearly visible to even the naked eye. The strike is strong and well centered on both sides, Liberty’s comically bulbous nose and mop of long hair clearly delineated and visible under low power magnification. Called “Probably High Condition Census” by Robert on his envelope—there are a number of examples that have been called EF to Mint State over the years, and ranking them would take would be fraught with difficulty, given the oftentimes shallowly struck obverse and planchet flaws that plague this Miller number. Roughly comparable to both specimens called VF in the 1975 Pine Tree EAC sale, though not quite as fine as a specimen called VF-30 (subsequently in a PCGS AU53 holder) in our (Stack’s) July 2008 Berngard sale though without the softness in the overdate area of that coin. Here is a coin that boasts positive visual appeal and a strong overdate to illustrate this Red Book listed type.From the Robert M. Martin Collection. Bowers and Merena’s Sale of the Frederick B. Taylor Collection, March 26-28, 1987, lot 2415.
