1788 Machins Mills Halfpenny / Connecticut Copper Mule. Vlack 13-88CT, Miller 101-D, W-8080. Rarity-5-. AU-55 (PCGS).117.2 grains. Obverse die showing the usual sunken and failing peripheries, the die clashing that is so bold and prevalent on the Ted Craige coin is now mostly faded from the die; the reverse shows the die crack at E[T] just forming, the die chip at seated Libertys chin, the die crack through I of LIB, and the long, thin die crack that curves up to the right from her left foot through the base of the globe through the bottom of the shield to B of LIB to rim. Lightly worn and very well struck for the issue, the laurel leaves in Georges hair are fully and sharply rendered where they are normally melded through more advanced circulation wear. Surfaces are a light golden-brown, a trifle darker on the obverse than reverse, the planchet displaying the most inconsequential of planchet flecks when compared to most other survivors of this muling. In fact, the probable finest known Ted Craige piece graded PCGS AU-58 that we sold for $16,450 in our November 2012 Baltimore Auction is essentially as-made but has a reverse rendered slightly indistinct by planchet texture. This piece, in comparison, is smooth and glossy, its reverse well-rendered and showing just trouble-free circulation wear. On balance, it is probably finer than Craiges from the perspective of overall visual appeal if not from the technical perspective of wear. This coin is finer than just about all others we have surveyed, among them Fords four coins, Taylors three pieces and Oechsners lovely and seemingly conservatively graded Very Fine.From the E Pluribus Unum Collection.
