1788 New Jersey Copper. Maris 49-f, W-5470. Rarity-5. Head Left. VF-30 (PCGS).
154.7 grains. 28.8 mm. A sharp example of this scarce and popular Head Left variety. Deep olive with some mottled ruddy tan on the reverse. Glossy if microscopically granular, with some trace of very shallow scale, particularly at the peripheries. The horsehead stands out in bold relief, and the strike is better than usual on both sides. The date is complete, even though the bottom halves of both 8 digits are not visible, as struck. The obverse is aligned to 9:00 and shows denticles at right, the reverse is closer to ideal centering (though slightly left) and shows denticles around the entire circumference. Some old scratches, mostly horizontally oriented, are worn and blend in at the central obverse. Fairly early die state with the bulging just beginning behind the mane, call it early Die State 2. The Head Lefts are classics. Distinctive, attractive, scarce in high grade, they have always been top of mind and top of want lists for anyone who seeks to own more than a couple of New Jersey coppers. The top six pieces ranked on the SHI Census include one lovely AU (and a second unverified AU), an EF at the New Jersey Historical Society and another EF in private hands, and two VF+ coins. One of the latter, ranked fifth, was sold in our November 2019 E Pluribus Unum Collection sale as PCGS EF-40, bringing $45,600. Fine is about the highest grade that's generally available, although most survivors suffer from roughness, poor axial alignment, ground patina, etc. A solid VF like this is a very desirable property.
PCGS# 766319.
From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) sale of September 2006, lot 160, via Mike Wierzba.