1786 New Jersey copper. Maris 17-b. Rarity-3. Large planchet. PLUKIBUS. Overstruck on a 1774 France Louis XV sol. VG-10 (PCGS).189.9 grains. An important New Jersey copper for its weight, its provenance, and its very unusual undertype. At 189.9 grains, this ranks as one of the heaviest New Jersey coppers known (a few tip the scales at the other side of 200 grains, but vanishingly few). Its provenance is arguably the king of all pedigrees for a New Jersey copper: Dr. Edward Maris’ own cabinet and the 1886 sale of his collection, where this coin was described as “The same variety (i.e. 17-b), struck over a French coin of Louis XVI (sic). <em>The only one I have seen</em>. Weighs 190 grains. Crosby records the heaviest New Jersey he had found weighed 156 grains.” Its undertype places it among a very small number of New Jerseys — perhaps just three — identified as struck over French coppers. Mossman listed only three: a Maris 16-d published by Hodder in the 1989 <em>American Journal of Numismatics</em>; the Ted Craige Maris 40-b (published in CNL in 1963, sold by us in our January 2013 Americana sale as lot 11353), and this coin.<p>This was undoubtedly the first of the bunch to have been identified. The obverse shows a generous amount of the French legends, including FRANCIAE visible atop CAESAREA with easily legibility. Miraculously and ideally, the date of the undertype coin is also visible; 1774 spans from above A of NOVA to above C of CAESAREA. It’s only a pity the New Jersey minter wasn’t considerate enough to preserve the mintmark.<p>The surfaces are dark olive brown, with contrasting lighter brown on the devices. The overall texture is finely granular, with some areas of more notable pitting like the patch seen above the snout. The overall eye appeal is good, and the strike is well impressed into the broad planchet. Our last offering of a New Jersey overstruck on a French copper, the Ted Craige Llama Head Maris 40-b, brought $49,937.50. This one will be less dear, though it will surpass the $350 mark it set when last offered almost 40 years ago.From the E Pluribus Unum Collection of New Jersey Coppers. Earlier, from the Dr. Edward Maris Collection; H.P. Smith’s sale of the Dr. Edward Maris Collection, June 1886, lot 381; T. Harrison Garrett Collection; Johns Hopkins University; Bowers and Ruddy Galleries’ sale of the Garrett Collection, Part III, October 1980, lot 1408.
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