1787 George Clinton Copper. W-5790, Breen-989. Rarity-6+. Fine-15 (PCGS).144.8 grains. 135 degree die rotation.<p>A famous example of a singularly popular and distinctive piece, the only Confederation-era copper to depict a real person other than George Washington. Evenly worn but never abused, a well circulated but entirely wholesome example. Glossy medium brown and slate with a handsome appearance on both sides. A whisper of old harmless verdigris clings to the interiors of RGE of GEORGE, but the surfaces are smooth and appealing. Aside from a rim bruise left of 6 oclock on the obverse, there are no noteworthy marks. Even with significant evidence of circulation, all designs remain clear and nicely defined, even the elements of the New York State shield at central reverse. Interestingly, the die rotation is the same as the 1785-dated Washington Confederatio, which is distinctive and suggestive.<p><p>We last described this coin in 2012, as part of our offering of the Jack Royce Collection:<p><p>"One of the highlights of the present offering, one of only three or four different Clinton coppers that have been offered in the last four decades. The total population appears to be on the order of a dozen pieces, including those impounded in the Smithsonian Institution, Colonial Williamsburg, Newman Money Museum, etc. This type is so rare than even world class cabinets formed over the course of multiple decades have lacked one. Ford sold his privately in 1973; it was thus not present in our offering of the Boyd-Ford collection. This piece is similar in quality to the slightly finer Laird Park-Robison piece; the Colonial Williamsburg specimen is also around VF but maybe a shade nicer than these two. The Garrett coin is probably EF by todays standards. The Smithsonian coin [a donation from the Norweb family] is Mint State or close to it. A few others are at the opposite end of the preservation scale. PCGS has certified two other specimens, one at VF-20 and another as EF-40. Struck by Machins Mills, apparently in an attempt to curry favor with Governor George Clinton while New York considered the question of contracting a firm to produce New York state coppers, this type appears to be a pattern in the true sense of the word, one that was never struck in large numbers as a simple commercial production. The appearance of this piece at auction is a stroke of good luck for todays generation of advanced collectors, many of whom have literally never seen one of these cross the auction block."<p><p>Since that time, collectors have had an unusual surfeit of opportunities to buy an example of this rarity. Eric Newmans spectacular specimen (MS-63 BN NGC) sold for a remarkable $499,375 in May 2014, the Garrett piece reappeared in our March 2015 Kendall Foundation sale as PCGS EF-40 at $235,000, and in 2018, we sold the MS-62 (PCGS) Appleton-Archangel specimen for $168,000. The piece Ford sold in 1973 reappeared in the Partrick sale (AU-58 NGC at $192,000). A somewhat corroded PCGS VF-20 sold in both 2014 and 2019, most recently for $63,000. The lowest grade example known, a charming PCGS AG-3, brought $15,600 in 2018. If youre keeping score, that means almost every privately owned example (except one, as best we can tell) has sold at auction in the last decade!<p><p>Of all the George Clinton coppers, this might be the one that hits the sweet spot of the most collectors. Its color and surfaces are ideal. Its lightly worn but never abused, with no hint of ground patina or corrosion. It has a fine provenance and is accurately graded in the holder. Its a great coin anyone would be proud to own.PCGS# 433.From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the Col. E.H.R. Green Collection; Numismatic Gallery (Abe Kosoff)s 1947 ANA sale of the Robert Prann Collection, August 1947, lot 602; our (Stacks) sale of the John L. Roper 2nd Collection, December 1983, lot 274; our (Stacks) sale of the Gilbert Steinberg Collection, October 1989, lot 103; our (Stacks) 1990 fixed price list of Colonial Coins and Medals, lot 135; our sale of the John "Jack" Royse Collection, November 2012, lot 6056; Don Willis Collection; Heritages sale of August 2017, lot 3827.
