1737 Higley Copper. Freidus 1.2-B.a, W-8205. Rarity-8. THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE / I AM GOOD COPPER, 3 Hammers. AG-3 (PCGS). 155.3 grains. An astounding rarity in the Higley copper series, one of just two examples extant to represent the entire THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE / I AM GOOD COPPER <em>Guide Book</em> type. This intriguing combination of dies mules a THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE obverse, normally seen with the CONNECTICVT reverse, with an I AM GOOD COPPER reverse which is normally seen with a VALVE or VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE obverse. While there isnt sufficient die state evidence to prove this variety isnt just a later muling of two random dies, its easy to envision it as a fleeting intermediary between those two major types. The coins physical appearance and grade were described in our March 2010 Scherff Collection catalog as follows:<p>"Tan devices contrast with near-black fields. The obverse legend-THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE-is utterly complete and perfectly legible on the ideally centered obverse. Though GOOD is missing, the remainder of I AM GOOD COPPER on the reverse is easily seen, and the 1737 date is complete and bold. The central devices are also notably sharp for the series. Graded Very Good in the 1987 Norweb sale (a grade that actually seems a shade conservative to us, given what most Higleys look like), this piece was apparently heavily net graded by PCGS for its slight surface roughness; we doubt any colonial specialist on the planet would grade this piece About Good in the context of known Higleys. Circular pits are noted under A of VALVE and at the frontmost hoof on the obverse, minor flaws at rim at 12:00 and 6:00 on obverse, scattered minor reverse pits and two more substantial flaws near the rim in the northwest quadrant."<p>The only other example of this variety is the lovely Bushnell-Ryder-Boyd-Ford coin that was graded Extremely Fine in the Ford sale where it realized $218,500 in May 2004 and more recently was graded VF-35 at PCGS and sold in Kagins March 2018 ANA auction for $252,000. The present coin realized $40,250 in our Scherff Collection sale of March 2010, representing a seemingly excellent value despite its lower grade when its status as a semi-unique coin and the rarest major variety of Higley copper outside of the unique THE WHEELE GOES ROUND is taken into consideration. This piece boasts a century old provenance to the famous Parmelee Collection sold in 1890, and was possibly owned by Sylvester Crosby prior to that. In his 1875 work <em>Early American Coins</em>, Crosby states on page 325 that two specimens are known of this variety, "one of which belongs to C. I. Bushnell, Esq., the other, to the writer." None of the five Higleys in the Crosby collection sale of 1883 were this variety, but since there are still just two known examples, it seems likely that Crosby sold his coin to Parmelee at some point prior and the coins are one and the same. Two were known in 1875 and there is still to this day no evidence of a third. A Poor-1 in the PCGS population report, a coin seen by your cataloger a few years ago, is barely identifiable and most likely misattributed. The Newman coin referenced in the Kagins auction description of the Bushnell-Ford piece was actually a 2-B.a, a VALVE ME AS YOU PLEASE variety. Here is an extraordinary opportunity and one that may not present itself again for quite some time. PCGS# 204. From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex (probably) Sylvester S. Crosby; New York Coin & Stamp Co.s sale of the Lorin G. Parmelee Collection, June 1890, lot 275; Richard Picker, 1959; our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Norweb Collection Part I, October 1987, lot 1238; San Diego Show & Auction Inc.s January 1988 sale, lot 360; our (Stacks) sale of the Peter Scherff Collection, March 2010, lot 2104.
