1787 New Jersey Copper. Maris 68-w, W-5400. Rarity-4. No Sprig Above Plow, Outlined Shield. VF-20 (PCGS). 106.5 grains. Reverse aligned about 20° clockwise from proper coin turn. Dark olive with attractively contrasting light brown devices against glossy but finely granular surfaces. A handsome little Maris 68-w, one of the most lovably distinctive of the Maris varieties, always struck on a small diameter and dumpy planchet. The obverse shows tips of the denticles from 9:00 to 12:00, and the tops of all four date digits are visible. The reverse is ideally centered on the tight planchet, and it shows the usual dimple in the middle of the shield. Aside from a nearly invisible thin scratch across the obverse from 9:00 to 3:00, accomplished when this piece was in circulation and now nearly worn into oblivion, the surfaces are remarkably problem free. The die state is early, with no obverse bulge seen, Die State 1.<p><p>Were hard pressed to explain how this piece got from Hillyer Ryders collection, the origin of the iconic neatly handwritten square ticket that accompanies this coin, into the Newman Collection. Boyd bought the Ryder New Jerseys intact. This didnt come from any of the Boyd-Ford duplicate sales. It seems to be one of the few Ryder-Boyd New Jerseys that John Ford never owned.<p><p>The Ford-Partrick Unc is the runaway finest known, selling for $57,600 in the March 2021 Partrick sale as NGC MS-61. The piece listed on the SHI Census as third finest known sold in the same sale, graded NGC VF-35, for $3,840. The E Pluribus Unum Collection coin, a choice PCGS AU-53, is a new addition to the census. It brought $13,200 in our sale of November 2019. Fine or Very Fine, often with planchet or striking anomalies, is about as good as most collectors can find. PCGS# 783098. From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from Lyman Lows 163rd Sale, November 1911, lot 61; Hillyer Ryder Collection (with a square Ryder ticket); Eric P. Newman Collection; Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society; Heritages sale of the Eric P. Newman Collection, May 2014, lot 30227.
