1788 Connecticut Copper. Miller 16.3-N, W-4610. Rarity-2. Draped Bust Left. Overstruck on 1787 Massachusetts cent, Ryder 1-B. AU-55 (PCGS).119.8 grains. Frosty medium steel brown with lighter brown highlights over smooth, glossy surfaces. A remarkable example of this evocative and distinctive overstrike: a Machin’s Mills Connecticut copper struck over a counterfeit Massachusetts cent. This piece is not only especially high grade for one of these — indeed, we’ve never seen a better one — but it also has a remarkable amount of identifiable undertype. The 9:00 position of the Connecticut obverse is the 6:00 position of the Massachusetts host. When turned, the bow is almost complete, most of the standing Indian is visible, and considerable vestiges of the Massachusetts legend are able to be made out, especially WE of WEALTH on the cuirass. On the flip side, the 1787 undertype date is pretty clear under ET LIB, the arrows and olive branch are bold, and a good deal of the eagle is visible. The surfaces are smooth, problem free, and beautiful, but even if they weren’t, this overstrike would be an absolute treat. <p><p><p>This phenomenon is confined pretty specifically to the Miller 16.3-N, though the overstrikes are at least 20 times rarer than virgin flan pieces. And when this variety is found as an overstrike, it is almost always over a 1787 Massachusetts cent, Ryder 1-B. Was Machin’s Mills making these Massachusetts cents? Did they get a good deal on a keg that made them cheaper planchet stock than raw sheet copper? Had they identified an area or a customer where Connecticut coppers passed at a higher rate than Massachusetts cents? Phil Mossman illustrates one of these and offers some discussion of the phenomenon in his <em>Money of the American Colonies and the Confederation</em>. At that time (1993), he had identified just nine examples of M. 16.3-N overstruck on Massachusetts cents. While that number might be a little higher today, it’s not by much. We doubt a finer one exists than this one.<p><p>From the E Pluribus Unum Collection.
