1787 New Jersey copper. Maris 34-V. Rarity-6. Deer Head. Overstruck on 1787 New Jersey copper, Maris 35-J. EF-40 (PCGS).141.9 grains. Choice even light brown with hard, smooth, glossy surfaces and extraordinary visual appeal. The planchet is broad, no roughness is notable, and any marks are scattered and trivial. The horsehead stands out in bold relief, and the crisp perfect die state allows the shields detail to come through despite interruptions from the undertype. Very boldly overstruck over a 1787 Maris 35-J New Jersey copper, obverse to obverse. The obverse legends, starting at 6:00, appear to read CAESARE NOV CAESAREA. The exergual line of the undertype and the date beneath it appear at 12:00 on the dominant strike. The obtuse angle of the singletree and the distance between AR of CAESAREA are enough to be certain of the attribution of the undertype. The overlapping shields on the reverse, along with the intermingled legends, are fascinating to study under magnification.<p>All Maris 34-Vs are overstruck, it seems. A small group of them are overstruck on Maris 35-Js, a rare Deer Head variety whose obverse die failed during the marriage, a variety that itself was entirely or mostly struck on host coins. These Maris 35-Js may have been recycled because their obverse striking quality wasnt up to the standards of whoever was overseeing the coining of the Deer Heads, or perhaps the quality of the coins from obverse 34 was just so much better that it was worth giving a small basket of already struck coins another go. Whatever the reasons, this was not a big operation: Siboni, Howes, and Ish list just eight specimens of Maris 34-V struck on previously struck New Jerseys. The addition of this coin makes nine. The first coin listed appears in the next lot; it is struck over a Maris 35-J, not 34-J, as the authors correctly surmised in their text. It may be time to give the undertype of the Taylor coin - the only other one listed as having a Maris 34-J undertype - a closer look.<p>This piece is not listed in the SHI Condition Census, but it clearly merits inclusion. Most would likely consider this piece better than the one that follows it, and that piece is carried as second finest known. Both are a country mile finer than the Siboni, Howes, Ish plate coin which is deemed fourth finest (though that piece, admittedly, has an enviable and ancient provenance). There are not many choice examples of Maris 34-V. There are fewer that remain in this kind of spectacular condition, and fewer than that struck from an early enough die state that the shield is well defined. This seems likely to be the second finest known example from these dies, pending verification of Antons AU. It is without question a singularly spectacular and very important New Jersey copper.From the E Pluribus Unum Collection of New Jersey Coppers.
