1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 33.34-Z.11, W-3860. Rarity-5-. Draped Bust Left. AU-55 (PCGS).133.8 grains. A Clark Obverse and Reverse Plate Coin. Essentially unworn, whatever lack of definition there exists in the design motifs is due mostly to inadequate strike, as is par for the course in the Draped Bust Left series. This coin is better struck than most, with some of the original, unstruck planchet surface visible chiefly in the central parts of the devices. The fields are awash in mint luster and original mint gloss, unbroken by this smooth chestnut brown coin’s brief moment in circulation. Well-centered on a planchet that was too small to accommodate the entirety of the legends, with the bottoms of the date digits off the flan as a result. Despite its rarity, a few superb, high grade examples exist of the variety. This is probably the finest known of this rare die marriage, given its superior grade, luster and surface quality, though a random example of the die marriage called AU50 in Heritage’s May 2000 auction looks to have superior luster and strike but has some bad planchet flaws in the left obverse field.From the Robert M. Martin Collection. Ex lot 37 of a B. Max Mehl auction, date not known; Stack’s Sale of the Harold Bareford Collection, October 22, 1981, lot 14.
