1788 Connecticut Copper. Miller 16.4-L.2, W-4620. Rarity-5. Draped Bust Left. MS-61 BN (PCGS).An incredibly high grade example of a variety that almost invariably comes well circulated, crudely struck, granular, or otherwise impaired. This glossy, lustrous mahogany-brown piece retains just about all of its mint surface and is very well struck for the variety, just a bit off center on each side, but the legends are complete and the date very nearly so. Planchet lightly striated on both sides with darker toning in those areas, but showing no significant flaws. A few thin scratches on the obverse are the only marks. One other Mint State example of the variety is known, the epic double struck piece from the Newman Collection with partial mint red graded NGC MS-62 BN that last realized $30,550. In terms of a normally struck example of the variety, the present coin is likely the finest available and has desirable provenance to the 1975 EAC Sale, one of the great Connecticut copper auctions of all time. This piece is the single finest and only Mint State graded example of not just the variety, but the overall 1788 Draped Bust Left type at PCGS.PCGS# 687241.From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from Pine Tree Rare Coin Auctions 1975 EAC Sale, February 1975, lot 319A; our (Bowers and Merenas) August 1991 ANA Sale, lot 59; Anthony Terranova Collection; Jon Hanson, July 2003; Heritages sale of the Donald G. Partrick Collection, November 2020, lot 44500. Plated in Randy Clarks "The Identification and Classification of Connecticut Coppers 1785-1788," pp. 637, 663.
