A RARE 1787 CONNECTICUT HALFPENNY IN INCREDIBLE SHAPE!!!

[Erik in NJ]

This Victorian-era property I have been working this past weekend in my town has turned out to be a Colonial oasis. I have found many several Colonial firsts on this property which has been a real surprise and I believe is due to the remains of an old mill which is in the area. I will save those items for future posts, but wanted to share this incredible Connecticut halfpenny, which based on the decorator used in the die makes it rare or very rare coin to boot. It displayed on my Explorer SE Pro like a silver quarter, probably because it's in such good shape. Large coppers in northern NJ rarely if ever come out of the ground looking like this! I am also excited because it is my first colonial State copper in over twelve years of detecting. I have not nailed down the exact variety and have included photos and scans, neither of which really do the coin any justice. It is stuck off center and the date in cut in half, but due to the few years in which this coin was minted it must be a 1787 and there were over 200 varieties of this coin in that year! Please also note the die crack which goes through the letters "AUCT". This copper is the "Draped Bust" variety. Also note the very interesting look of the eye.

 

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[Brian C.]

Darn nice coin, I bet you were smiling from ear to ear when you found it, thanks for sharing.

 

[John Boy]

Man Eric that's in really great shape the ground has been kind to it. Very nice.congratulations buddy.Awesome

 

[Erik in NJ]

Darn nice coin, I bet you were smiling from ear to ear when you found it, thanks for sharing.

Hi Brian, I didn't know what it was in the field as it was green and dirty...I didn't want to damage it and didn't recognize what I saw. I thought perhaps it was a KG. When I got home I drycleaned it in warm peroxide and very carefully restored it to the best of my ability. Once I realized what I had and saw the detail on the coin I was sure smiling from ear to ear for quite a while. In determining today that it's one of the rarer varieties of this coin I was smiling even more -- I'm thinking this coin is something I should have slabbed. Thanks for your post!

 

[jewelerguy]

dang that's nice!

 

[Evolution]

That's an absolutely beautiful coin! Awesome!

 

[JohnnyMac]

Great coin Eric!

 

[Erik in NJ]

That's an absolutely beautiful coin! Awesome!

Thanks brother! Looking forward to nailing down the exact variety of this one. Book is on the way! There are so many varieties of the 1787, but that makes it even more interesting!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Great coin Eric!

Thanks Johnny--you being in NJ know how rough our soil can be on old copper. How this one survived in this condition after 225 years in the ground is a minor miracle! I found a KG III today on the same property today that was toasted!

 

[l.cutler]

Beautiful Connecticut! A word of warning though, some of the varieties are very difficult to attribute. Sometimes it is just the slightest variation in the location of a punctuation mark that makes a difference. While yours has plenty of detail to attribute, it sometimes takes a practiced eye to tell the difference between varieties. Good luck!

 

[flyinryan2]

Very very nice Connecticut copper! Congrats.

 

[wheatfinder13]

Great find

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[pepperj]

Great shape that copper is in, congrats on the find as they don't come out of the ground much better than that!
How do other copper/brass items look from the site as the soils were really kind to the coin?

 

[Don in SJ]

That is a very nice CT copper, URS-7 R, R-5 I believe which is still rare at this time, but rare in CT coppers is rather subjective, since many varieties are rare or even rarer, but still in that condition, it would be hard to top finding another one in the ground in that great of shape.
It is a 1787 Miller 37.2-k.5 variety. I hope someone else who has a book on Conn coppers can verify, but I am rather certain that is it....

 

[Iron Patch]

That is a very nice CT copper, URS-7 R, R-5 I believe which is still rare at this time, but rare in CT coppers is rather subjective, since many varieties are rare or even rarer, but still in that condition, it would be hard to top finding another one in the ground in that great of shape.
It is a 1787 Miller 37.2-k-5 variety. I hope someone else who has a book on Conn coppers can verify, but I am rather certain that is it....

I had just got to Miller 37.1-cc.1 on the Coinfacts list (the one right before 37.2-k-5), and seeing it I knew I was close, and reloaded this page to see if you had posted to know if I should go on

 

[Iron Patch]

Pics...

Stack's Bowers Galleries - Lot #11238 - 1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 37.2-k.5, W-4105. Rarity-5+. Draped Bust Left. VF-35.

 

[Don in SJ]

I had just got to Miller 37.1-cc.1 on the Coinfacts list (the one right before 37.2-k-5), and seeing it I knew I was close, and reloaded this page to see if you had posted to know if I should go on

Yeah, it is in the Whitman book, which you have to be careful using with all the errors in it, but with all the details showing so well in the photograph, it sure made it much easier to ID. I was hoping he had one of the rarer k reverses,(k.3 or k.4) but that is a good one regardless.
Here is Whitman book description on the reverse: Branch hand opposite right side of D. In date, 8 higher than other digits. Second leaf on right large and prominent.(Diagnostic)

 

[Iron Patch]

Yeah, it is in the Whitman book, which you have to be careful using with all the errors in it, but with all the details showing so well in the photograph, it sure made it much easier to ID. I was hoping he had one of the rarer k reverses,(k.3 or k.4) but that is a good one regardless.
Here is Whitman book description on the reverse: Branch hand opposite right side of D. In date, 8 higher than other digits. Second leaf on right large and prominent.(Diagnostic)

Am I going to be just a little behind you all day? lol I was just going to say the obverse is obviously right, and was going to post about the leaf to say it looks good.

HNAI US Coin Auction Catalog #1145, Stamford, CT - Heritage Auctions Inc - Google Books

 

[hogge]

UNREAL! Punctuation after "ET-LIB" mirrors M39.1-h1. The rest mirrors the "Machin Mills transitional" pieces. Possible M37.8 LL or M37.12 LL. These have the large date which I think you have. This is a tough one as I haven't seen the punctation on these pieces as of yet. It could possibly be the "LIR" VERY rare variety but the strike is so clear that the bottom of the "B" is still almost completely intact. THIS IS A GOOD 1 to try and figure out. WORK CALLS..............I'll see what Don and IP may say about this. Extremely Kool Coin! Hogge " The position of that punctuation bothers me on ID. This is going to be a good 1 to ID.