1787 New Jersey Copper. Maris 62-q, W-5350. Rarity-3. Sprig Above

The Choice AU Eliasberg-Syd Martin Maris 62-q 1787 New Jersey Copper. Maris 62-q, W-5350. Rarity-3. Sprig Above Plow, Hidden WM. Large Planchet. AU-58+ (PCGS). 152.7 grains. SHI DS2. An absolutely exquisite New Jersey copper, Condition Census for the variety and a nearly unimprovable type coin. Frosty light brown with lively olive around design elements where mint color was last to fade. Well struck on a nice, broad planchet, ideally centered on the reverse and only trivially aligned to 9 o'clock on the obverse. Denticles frame both sides completely, and the centers are near-fully struck as well. Some planchet texture persists at central obverse, as usual for this variety, and the absolute center of the shield is a trifle soft but still fully defined. A little strikethrough extends into the field from the left side of the shield, but no significant marks are noted. Die State 2, with a crack from the plow bar to the denticles below extending into a rectangle on its way. This coin is ranked as sixth finest known on the SHI Census, one of five AU coins that trail the Gem Unc Bushnell-Garrett coin and a Gem Unc in the Anton Collection. The third-ranked Taylor coin reappeared in the March 2021 Partrick sale as NGC MS-61; that coin is more lustrous but less sharp at centers. While fairly common in grades through EF, this variety remains scarce at this kind of state of preservation - and continues to have significant demand from type collectors. The presence of the partial initials WM for Walter Mould under the horsehead, seen quite clearly here, only increases interest in high grade examples of this variety. Provenance: From our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, May 1996, lot 79; William O'Donnell Collection; our (Stack's) Americana sale, January 2001, lot 160; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006; Sydney F. Martin; our sale of the Sydney F. Martin Collection, Summer 2022 Global Showcase Auction, August, lot 8124. PCGS# 767840. BASE PCGS# 522415. NGC ID: 2X8V. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.

Estimate:£0.74

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