1786 New Jersey Copper. Maris 15-U, W-4830. Rarity-5+. Straight Plow Beam, Leaning Head. Fine-15 (PCGS).
142.9 grains. Attractive smooth light brown devices contrast with olive and mahogany tones across the earthen fields. Not quite smooth, but the glossy ground patina is actually very pleasing. Pretty well centered on both sides, just a trifle to the right. A few horizontal scratches on the shield blend in pretty well. Die State 3, with the break within the shield extending to just past the shield's left border. A Maris 15-U doesn't have to be extremely high grade to be a notable, well preserved example of the variety. The finest three known are all called VF+ in the SHI Census, which includes five more VFs without the + designation. The nice PCGS VF-25 in the 2019 EPU sale brought $4,080. Syd Martin's PCGS VG-8 brought $2,520 last summer.
Provenance: From the E Pluribus Unum Collection.
PCGS# 767876.
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