1739 3P Higley, Broad Axe, BN MS(PCGS#219)

August 2023 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

8233

等级

G6BN

价格

314,571

详细说明

Exciting 1739 Freidus 3.1-D Higley Rarity Just Two Known 1739 Higley Copper. Freidus 3.1-D, W-Unlisted. Rarity-8. VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE / J CUT MY WAY THROUGH, Broad Axe. Good-6 (PCGS). 132.5 grains. The second specimen identified from these dies. We sold the first identified piece in our (Stack's) Henry Leon sale in May 2007, lot 352; it realized $69,000 in grade Fine-12. This piece, which we earlier offered in our (Stack's) March 2010 sale of the Peter Scherff Collection, shows nicer surfaces, autumn-brown and nearly smooth with just some scattered pits, including a gathering behind the deer's tail and another group inside the border at the left obverse. ME AS YOU and some of PLEASE is readily visible on the obverse, along with a bold deer and III. The axe on the reverse is particularly bold, and the date is more prominent than on most 1739-dated Broad Axe Higleys, with an exceptionally sharp 17, while the second two date digits are present if not especially bold. The surfaces are finely granular and show some faint pin scratches, some of which may be remnants of the "adjustment" or preparation marks that planchets for Higleys tend to exhibit. Though the population of Freidus 3.1-D Higleys has now doubled to two, the comments we made on the discovery piece's rarity in 2007 are still relevant: The response to this new discovery from scholars in the series was one of delight if not shock: Freidus obverse 3.1 was previously known muled to Freidus reverse B.a, and Freidus reverse C. This reverse D was previously known married to obverses 3.2 and 3.3. Those two obverses are known in combination with reverses B, C, and D, thus this new variety was something of the missing piece in this interconnected scheme. Despite all the study done on this series by S.S. Crosby, Howland Wood, the little known scholar Cyril Hawley, Eric P. Newman, Mike Hodder, and others, this variety was heretofore unknown and this specimen is the only known example from this die marriage, making it as rare as a colonial coin can be. Further, as a type, the Broad Axe Higleys are as rare as they are distinctive, and those with the 1739 date (Reverse D only) are rarer still! While further specimens have been studied since the 1994 Freidus monograph, at that time only 12 examples from this sole dated Broad Axe reverse were known. Of the five known Freidus 3.2-D coppers listed [which has increased to seven], two are impounded (Connecticut State Library, Eric P. Newman). Of the seven known Freidus 3.3-D coppers listed, two are also impounded (Connecticut State Library, ANS); others have not been seen in decades. Any Broad Axe is a rarity, and they only appear when great collections are sold. For the grade assigned, the eye appeal surpasses expectations, making this a prime candidate to represent the Broad Axe type in a connoisseur's collection. Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Stack's, 1992, privately, to the following; our (Stack's) sale of the Peter Scherff Collection, March 2010, lot 2107. To view supplemental information and all items from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, click here. PCGS# 219. NGC ID: AUAZ. 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.