1787 New Jersey copper. Maris 33-U. Rarity-4. Outlined Shield. VF-25 (PCGS).141.1 grains. Attractive light golden brown with microscopically granular surfaces. A handsome piece, with a few trivial scratches in the upper right obverse field but otherwise free of major issues. Nicely centered and well struck on both sides. The internal die break connecting vertical pales 4 and 5 on the shield is in its infancy here, and the break that develops in the horse’s mane is barely visible, denoting this as the very earliest substate of Die State 2. This state follows the first marriage of Reverse U with Obverse 15 — a marriage that struck coins with an unbroken reverse die — but precedes the vast majority of Maris 15-U coppers and those of later state Maris 33-U. As noted in Siboni, Howes, and Ish, these two obverses, one dated 1786 and one dated 1787, seemed to have been swapped back and forth into the press several times. This is not a unique situation in American numismatics, as similar remarriage cycles happened in half dimes and other denominations at the United States Mint, but it makes us wonder: why take the trouble to dismount an obverse die from a press, then swap in another?From the E Pluribus Unum Collection of New Jersey Coppers. Earlier, from our Coin Galleries sale of August 1985, lot 1478; our sale of the SLT Collection, January 2012, lot 7545.
