1788 Connecticut Copper. Miller 6-H, W-4445. Rarity-5+. Mailed Bust Right, Boxer Head. MS-63 BN (PCGS).113.3 grains. A fabulous Connecticut copper, the clear finest known of this rare variety and distinctive head type. Exceptionally well preserved surfaces are aglow with mint luster, the obverse satiny and slightly reflective while the reverse is more frosty and displays subtle cartwheel. Predominantly toned to rich chocolate-brown, the obverse a shade darker than the reverse, and there are flashes of mint red within some of the obverse letters and to a greater extent in the reverse fields, particularly around the olive branch. The surfaces represent the epitome of a Choice Mint State state copper and offer a seldom seen glimpse of what fresh mint luster looked like on these coins. The strike is also remarkable with bold, nearly full definition brought into relief thanks to the early die state and high quality planchet. Just a bit off center to 9 oclock affecting the very tops of some of the letters in AUCTORI and INDE. All around extraordinary quality.<p>While there are a few other high grade examples known, the present coin seems safe in the finest known position. Prior to its appearance in the Ford sale, it was known only from the poor quality image in the Miller Sale, later reproduced in the <em>Red Book</em>, and the Hall-Brand-Oechsner coin was considered the finest known. The Oechsner coin recently appeared in the Partrick Collection where it was graded NGC AU-55 and while nice and somewhat lustrous, it is clearly not on the same level as the solidly Choice Mint State coin offered here. The Taylor coin was another noteworthy example, and it also ended up in Partrick, graded NGC AU-55. It has nice color and surfaces, but very little luster and some rough planchet texture on the reverse. The Martin coin is in a league of its own and is the ultimate example of the head type. Add to that its illustrious provenance and you have a truly great Connecticut copper.<p>PCGS# 687255.From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex David Proskey Collection; Thomas L. Elders sale of the Henry C. Miller Collection, May 1920, lot 2046; Hillyer Ryder; F.C.C. Boyd; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part IX, May 2005, lot 479. Plated in Henry C. Millers 1920 reference "The State Coinage of Connecticut"; also in Randy Clarks 2021 reference "The Identification and Classification of Connecticut Coppers 1785-1788," pp. 621, 646, 659.
