1787 NJ 1/2P Sprig Above Plow, Maris 63-q, BN MS(PCGS#767841)

The Summer 2022 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

8125

等级

MS63BN

价格

140,652

详细说明

Magnificent Choice Mint State 1787 Maris 63-q Large Planchet The Ford Coin 1787 New Jersey Copper. Maris 63-q, W-5365. Rarity-3. Large Planchet. MS-63 BN (PCGS). 162.2 grains. 30.7 mm. An absolutely majestic New Jersey copper, profoundly lustrous over its frosty medium brown surfaces. Both obverse and reverse glow under direct light, and a good deal of faded mint color remains around the legends, especially on the obverse. Denticles entirely encircle both sides, though the obverse is trivially aligned to 6:00. While some marks that were present on the planchet before striking remain in the small soft regions of absolute center, no post-striking flaws are worthy of note. This is a magnificently preserved copper, choice in every sense of the word. The central strike is better than often seen, with good definition in the horse's eye and all shield stripes delineated if not crisp at absolute center. The visual appeal is arresting and impressive. Die State 4, but early, with a depression within the triangular cud at the upper left corner of the shield where the break has not yet completely filled in. Mike Hodder described this artfully in 2003 as "a wonderful example and an almost archetypical Morristown Mint copper." This is one of the very finest examples of this variety known, and ranks high among the very nicest Large Planchet New Jersey coppers of any variety. Two specimens of Maris 63-q are ranked finer on the SHI Census: the Garrett coin from Ellsworth and the Norweb coin that sold to Partrick. Graded MS-63 BN (NGC) when offered in March 2021, the Partrick coin brought $57,600. F.C.C. Boyd bought a large collection of New Jersey coppers from the Brand Collection in 1945 during the Brand Estate's dissolution by Burdette G. Johnson of St. Louis. The two examples of Maris 63-q on the invoice (formerly sold in the John J. Ford, Jr. Library sale, now republished in the Siboni-Howes-Ish book) were graded About Fine ("Before die break") and Very Good ("Die break on rev."). Each was priced at $2.50, or a third as much as the "Olive. Unc." specimen of Maris 48-G. Presumably the first Maris 63-q listed is the one that sold as lot 215 in the Frontenac sale, a decent looking VF that could easily have been "About Fine" in 1945. There is zero possibility this piece was acquired at the same price (with a lower marked grade) as that one, meaning that if the provenance given in the 2003 Ford sale is correct ("Ex. Dr. Thomas Hall, Virgil Brand Collection, F.C.C. Boyd Estate"), this coin must have come to Boyd through Horace Brand's or Jane Brand Allen's later private sales to New Netherlands Coin Company, mostly in the early 1950s. Type collectors often seek out these well-executed Large Planchet varieties struck in Morristown, from dies engraved by the mysterious artist that Mike Hodder called "the Morristown Master." The fine style and sensitive execution of these dies, and the high level of minting expertise that went into their production from planchet to final product, make them the ultimate manifestation of the Jersey Horsehead copper. The quality of this one is close to unimprovable, and its provenance is worthy of its esteemed rank among the survivors of this variety or type. Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Dr. Thomas Hall Collection; Dr. Thomas Hall Estate, May 1909; Virgil M. Brand Collection, en bloc, by sale, September 1909; Horace and Armin Brand, by descent, June 1926; F.C.C. Boyd Collection; Boyd Estate to John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection Part I, October 2003, lot 199; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006. PCGS# 767841. 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. Click here to see Coins in Motion.[“Coins]