(1787-8) New Jersey copper. Uniface striking of Maris Reverse u. EF Details, Damage (PCGS).125.6 grains. A positively fascinating piece, struck either by error or whim. The struck side is an entirely normal Maris Reverse u, nicely centered and sharp, smooth chocolate brown, glossy and appealing. The other side is perfectly slick, with no evidence of design, no suggestions of manipulation, just blank. Some faint hairlines are noted, and a few very small striations were quite evidently struck with something. This was probably created just as David Sonderman explained a very similar uniface Reverse bb that was sold in our 1984 Picker sale (and a few times since). Sonderman suggested that two planchets entered the coining chamber at the same time, producing two crisp uniface strikes. This sensible explanation could have occurred either through an error in the planchet feeding mechanism or by dint of human experiment.<p>This piece has a long and impressive provenance. When Dr. Maris cataloged it in 1886 as part of his own collection, he described it as “Rev. u, slightly pounded. Obv. blank and perfect. <em>Unique</em>.” By “slightly pounded” he was referring to some significant contact impacts at the lower left portion of the shield, the only real flaw and the reason PCGS termed this piece damaged today. Somehow, this piece got into the Spiro Collection, where Hans Schulman called it “Reverse ‘U’ struck with blank obverse. Ex. Maris. V Fine. UNIQUE.” Oechsner bought it out of the sale, and it has not sold since his estate offering in 1988.From the E Pluribus Unum Collection of New Jersey Coppers. Earlier, Dr. Edward Maris Collection; H.P. Smiths sale of the Dr. Edward Maris Collection, June 1886, lot 475; T. Harrison Garrett Collection; Johns Hopkins University; Hans Schulmans sale of the Jacob Spiro Collection, March 1955, lot 1631; Stacks sale of the Herbert M. Oechsner Collection, September 1988, lot 1324.
