1787 New Jersey copper. Maris 37-X. Rarity-6+. Goiter. VF Detail, Environmental Damage (PCGS).156.6 grains. Last offered publicly in our 1984 Richard Picker sale, where it was described as: “Another Goiter variety, much rarer than the last. 156.7 grains. Well centered with full obverse denticulation. Well struck except for the shield lines, always weak on this variety. A clean dark brown obverse, but the reverse with some light porosity.” The obverse is very sharply detailed, aligned to the right enough to see the die edge from 7:00 to 1:00, glossy with dark chocolate brown toning and lighter contrasting brown on the devices. The reverse is better centered and is remarkably well detailed for a production of Reverse X, which quickly collapsed and is often seen nearly devoid of central detail. Both sides are granular, and the reverse shows some pitting around the rim. A single horizontal scratch crosses the obverse below the plow bar, while the scratches on the shield are more subtle even as they cover more area.<p>This isn’t the nicest example of Maris 37-X, an honor that goes to Siboni’s ex Oechsner-O’Donnell coin (honorable mention to the very pretty Boyd-Ford coin). But this might be the most important one, for two reasons. First, die state: this is the plate coin in the Siboni, Howes, and Ish book for the very rare perfect Die State 1, the only one that retains full shield detail and lacks the bulge that develops at 12:00. Very few examples with any kind of decent grade are struck from an early enough die state to see so much fine detail. Second, and even more evidently, this coin’s provenance. This may be the discovery specimen (though Siboni, Howes, and Ish raise the possibility that Dr. Maris owned more than one specimen from this marriage given his mealy-mouthed note that “No. 37-X I have not seen outside my own collection” rather than just saying it was unique.) If it isn’t, it is the only one present in the 1886 sale catalog (“Very Good. <em>Only three known</em>, and this perhaps the best. See N.J. Plate, X.”) and the one he chose to illustrate on his famous 1881 plate. When Maris wrote, 37-X was the only marriage of this reverse known. The marriage to obverse 48 was apparently discovered in 1895, forgotten about, then rediscovered at the Spiro sale in 1955. Since that time, only four examples of Maris 48-X have turned up in total, and just over a dozen specimens of 37-X are known. Most are well worn: the SHI Condition Census includes nine coins graded F+, F, or F- among the 10 listings. Beyond that, the rapid deterioration of the reverse die means that most examples of 37-X don’t look like much except for a Goiter with a crummy reverse. This example, crisply struck and boasting the best provenance of all of them, is perhaps the ultimate Maris 37-X. It was been previously offered at auction just twice, in 1886 and 1984.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 422; T. Harrison Garrett Collection; Johns Hopkins University; Richard Picker; Stack’s sale of the Richard Picker Collection, October 1984, lot 211; William Anton Collection; E Pluribus Unum Collection, via Larry Stack.
