1787 Connecticut Copper, Miller 16.5-n, ex TED CRAIGE Collection, rare variety!

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1787 Connecticut. Miller 16.5-n. High Rarity-5/Low Rarity-6. Very Good or so, a tough coin to grade since it is weakly struck in some areas, much stronger in others. On the obverse AUCTORI is weak and, as the reverse die is rotated 90 degrees, the date on the reverse shares the same fate. CONNEC is strong, as is most of the reverse legend, with just the E of INDE weak. The front of the obverse bust is weak, the rest outlined, while the reverse figure is fully outlined and has most of the branch sharp, which always aids attribution.. Lighter tan, a nice shade for a Connec, the surfaces with numerous contact marks from circulation and a couple larger obverse scratches that were made contemporary with the coin and have since toned down to the surface color and aren't as bad. A tough variety to find in any grade, the vast majority of known specimens probably grade below Fine! In cataloguing the Perkins collection in 2000, Michael Hodder noted that he had seen only 8 examples of the variety in all grades combined! The Perkins coin was sharp but with surface problems (and still brought $1,955; it was later in the Bob Lomprey sale where it realized $3,250), the Hessberg piece a trifle weaker than that, but with better surface quality and probably the finest known overall. Both Taylor and Norweb had solid EF's, the former scratched. The EAC '75 sale piece was a solid VF, while the one appearing in Stack's January, 1992 sale was VG. The Ford coin was graded "About Very Fine" and though it had the sharpness of a Choice VF it also had a large obverse scratch and some small rim bruises but still realized $1,150. The VG in the 2009 C4 sale managed a bid of $316.25, so clearly even low grade examples are in demand. Other than that, recent auction records for the variety are lacking, and the issue was notably absent from many of the larger collections of the series sold in the last few decades - including Garrett, Roper, Picker, Steinberg, Schenkel, all of the Boyd-Brand-Ryder offerings and every other C4 Convention sale aside from the Lompery one, including the 2002 sale of the Jesse Patrick collection. The variety long carried a rarity rating of just R-4, though once research was done on the series it became clear that this was something of a hidden rarity, having appeared just a bit more often than the 16.4-n which is a Low R-7 variety. In his annotations to the Perkins sale, Robert Martin notes 23 specimens in his database, and with the presumed existence of more than that number if probably today straddles the High R-5/Low R-6 line. The present coin is from the TED CRAIGE collection, which was formed in the 1960's and 1970's, and after his death in the 70's it was pretty much forgotten by collectors for over 4 decades until it was sold at public auction in 2013, bringing record prices. This coin is still in Craige's distinct handwritten envelope, a nice piece of numismatic history. This general type is pictured and listed on Page 61 of the 2013 edition of The Redbook [which has had massive pricing updates, and is now FAR more accurate than it ever has been, even though it resulted in lowering of prices for many common type coins!] (Draped Bust Left type), where Fine's are listed at $90 and full VG's at $60; this is offered here WITH NO RESERVE. The newly-published book on colonials by Q. David Bowers, the Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins, lists this type as his W-3025 (page 143), where the type is priced with the Perkins, Ford and a few other coins. Winning bidder to add $4 for postage and insurance - ALL items we sell are sent via insured mail [or Registered mail for items over $500]. California residents must add appropriate sales tax. The picture is of the actual coin being offered, and it has been enlarged in size to show the detail of the piece. All pictures are hosted on AOL, which sometimes degrades picture quality, so if they don't come through for you please e-mail us - at least a day before the sale ends, please! - and we will be happy so send you the image by e-mail. As always, we offer a full, no-questions-asked return policy of 14 days after receipt of the coin if it fails to meet your needs in ANY way - AND WE OFFER ONE OF THE STRONGEST RETURN GUARANTEES ON E-BAY, though it has seldom been used; please check out our Feedback Profile or e-mail any comments or questions that you may have. Thank you again for your bidding interest. We accept credit card payments through PayPal -- credit card shipments will have immediate shipment of items upon notification of payment.PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT MY E-BAY STORE FOR A SELECTION OF RARER, CHOICE COLONIAL COINS, SOME CERTIFIED, OFFERED FOR PRIVATE SALE AT BUY IT NOW PRICES -- THESE ARE ITEMS THAT WILL NOT BE LISTED FOR AUCTION ON E-BAY, AND ARE EXCELLENT PIECES FOR THE SERIOUS COLLECTOR!!PLEASE NOTE, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PICK THIS ITEM UP IN SAN DIEGO -- OR AT A COIN SHOW SOMEWHERE THAT WE WILL BOTH BE AT AND YOU ARRANGE THIS WITH ME IN ADVANCE! -- THEN YOU CAN SELECT THE "CASH ON LOCAL PICKUP" OPTION FOR SHIPPING, AND THERE WILL BE NO CHARGE FOR SHIPPING WITH THAT OPTION. THE $4 SHIPPING I CHARGE DOES NOT EVEN FULLY COVER THE POSTAGE, DELIVERY CONFIRMATION AND INSURANCE NEEDED. read more

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