1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 33.26-W.3, W-3740. Rarity-6+. Draped Bust Left. EF-45 (PCGS).146.3 grains. This die marriage has been catalogued as Rarity-7 or Rarity-7- since the 1970s, so it is amazing that even with the heightened interest in Connecticut coppers and die varieties in recent decades, this is still a Rarity-6+ die marriage. It certainly ranks among the finest known, perhaps behind only the slightly sharper but a bit more planchet flawed Ford specimen (which brought $23, 000 in October 2005), the really nice “VF” in the 1976 Pine Tree GENA sale, and the AU with laminations in Bowers and Ruddy’s October 1976 Turoff sale. The Taylor coin is sharper but hosts some rather acute planchet flaws. This piece is choice, its olive and golden-brown surfaces hosting just the most minor of fine planchet laminations on the obverse and no serious marks of circulation. Both sides are a trifle off-center, bringing some elements of the designs and legends close to the rims but without any losses. A perfect, small curved planchet clip is noted at the 3 o’clock position of the obverse. Struck from the later state of the obverse die, with the strangely shaped die cracks emanating from the U of AUCTORI, one which goes clear across the bust to the rim around 5 o’clock. Here is the opportunity to get one of the finest survivors of this rare die marriage that has had just 2 collector owners in 60 years!From the Robert M. Martin Collection. Ex W. Philip Keller Collection, purchased from Empire Coin Company May 2, 1959; Heritage’s Houston Signature US Coin Auction of December 2010, lot 3226.
