1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 37.12-LL, W-4175. Rarity-6. Draped Bust Left, ET-IIB. AU-50 (PCGS).135.5 grains. Deep chestnut brown with steely highlights at the high points, the fields are lustrous and flashy, if that term may be used on for a Connecticut copper! The strike is crisp and sharp at the peripheries, even to the point of creating a “fin” or upturned rim along part of the circumference. Obverse effigy’s face, neck and laurel wreath, on the other hand, are totally devoid of detail, instead replaced by the original planchet surface that was not obliterated as a result of the uneven strike. The coin is unworn for all intents and purposes, with the only positive signs of circulation being some high point friction and a pair of pin scratches across Liberty’s lower drapery and in the field above her thigh. Called “Finest Seen” by Robert, as most of the ones seen in auctions and recorded by him in his notebooks are clustered into the VG to VF range—Ford’s primary sale coin is in the following lot, Perkins’ was Fine, and Taylor’s was VG-8. The only potentially comparable piece is the 1975 Pine Tree EAC coin, called EF but with mint red, ex Stepney Hoard. Here is a chance to immediately elevate even an advanced collection with a very high-grade example of a rare die marriage that is also a Red Book-listed type.From the Robert M. Martin Collection. Ex our Americana Sale featuring Collection SLT, January 24-26, 2012, lot 7377; our Baltimore Sale of November 16, 2012, lot 6508.
