1785 Inimica Tyrannis / Confederatio. W-5635, Breen-1124. Rarity-7-. Copper. INIMICA TYRANNIS AMERICANA, Small Circle. VF-20 (PCGS).147.4 grains. 27.9 mm. 135 degree die rotation. One of the classic political statements of early American numismatics, a rarity that is distinctive and important. Even ruddy brown, a shade off from mahogany, with an olive halo around the devices. Perhaps recolored generations ago, but set and attractive. The surfaces are very finely granular but free of substantial problems, though we note a minor rim bruise just left of 6 oclock on the obverse and smaller one on the reverse above R of CONFEDERATIO. A couple of even smaller ones are not especially notable. The reverse is softly struck on the left side of the central star cluster, and the obverse shows a natural flaw or depression just left of center, hidden in the device. A couple of old marks are seen, but nothing significant. The die rotation matches that of both the Washington Confederatio and the George Clinton copper in this collection.<p><p>There appear to be just seven of these. Only four from these dies have been graded by PCGS: two in the VF range, one at AU-53, and an AU-58 last sold at auction in 1987. We sold the AU-53 (PCGS) example, ex Appleton-1976 ANA, in our 2018 Archangel sale. The best of these is the McCoy-Parmelee-NN51 coin. The Roper coin, the Norweb coin, the Garrett coin, the Newman coin, the Bushnell-Baldenhofer coin, and this piece round out the list. Partrick owned both the Roper coin (NGC EF-40) and the Garrett coin (NGC AU-50, though we like the Roper coin better). Aside from the Archangel coin, we have not sold one of these since this example sold in the 2004 Ford II sale - unless you count the one used as a planchet for a 1774 Machins Mills halfpenny that we sold in our (Stacks) 2008 Americana sale and that appears elsewhere in this auction.<p><p>With years typically passing between offerings, every opportunity to acquire this singularly historic Confederation-era pattern is important. The story of the Federal governments entry into the coining business, a story that includes the Fugio copper and the 1792 patterns, cannot be told without one of these.<p>PCGS# 846.From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from S.H. and Henry Chapmans sale of the Richard B. Winsor Collection, December 1895, lot 289; B. Max Mehls sale of the James Ten Eyck Collection, May 1922, lot 844; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part II, May 2004, lot 286; Ron Karp; John Agre and Dave Wnuck (Coin Rarities Online), May 2009.
