I have begun a collection of early New Jersey coinage. One of the earliest of our non-imported/recycled New Jersey coins are the New Jersey Coppers or Copper Maris. The problem is, that proper sources for these coins inflate the prices astronomically, and so I have taken to regularly scanning ebay for available coins. I have found ebay has become a rather Wild West for consumers as of late, where the phrase: 'caviat emptor', is more than just an old Latin expression; it should be ebay's un-official motto. There are many genuine Jersey Coppers available on ebay, but also many fakes. Some non-genuinely historic coins are clearly identified as reproductions, but others are offered as the real deal. Please have a look at the following coin both obverse and reverse, and tell me if this isn't an obvious fake. Could a genuine 200+ years-old coin possibly be lacking any patina and seem like newly minted copper, or could this be a genuine coin which has been 'cleaned'? I have compared this coin with various samples from it's mint date, and have found none which match this particular design. Coins of this vintage are often miss-struck, so I am not particularly suspicious of that. But even the denticles seem bogus. Jersey Coppers seem a favourite of coin counterfeiters as of late, which makes finding a good deal, a treacherous undertaking. But I am never so greedy as to leap before I look. Your thoughts? Joe
From what I can see in the pictures I suspect it is real. There are a LOT of varieties for these coins so trying to make comparison to just to some others of the same date may not be very helpful. This appears to be die combination 52-i Go here http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/NJ-Copper.intro.html#NJdies And then select Maris Plate III, the lower left quadrant
Thank you for your very helpful reply Condor101. I found a sample from the plates in your link which is very similar to the coin in question. The coin is being sold in England, so maybe the seller has no idea how valuable are Jersey Coppers, which might explain the reasonable price. But the question remains: Why does this coin have no patina and look like it was minted in 2010 rather than 1787? Could it have been cleaned? Which in itself would lower the value of a genuine coin immensely. I'd hate to miss an opportunity to grab a good deal, but the coin just look too good to be true. It looks almost uncirculated, which is unheard of for Jersey Coppers. Best regards, JJ
Your specimen is a Maris 52-i / W-5280. URS-10/R-3. Your statement is false for this variety. Commonly found. Available in AU. Retail: G4: $60 VG-8: $150 F-12: $220 VF-20: $650 EF-40: $1400 AU-50: $3000 Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins, Bowers, Whitman (c)2009, pgs. 167,173,183. Your specimen color corrected: The Reverse shield imperfection is a probable weak strike and/or planchet flaw. I'm not sure if the specimen has been cleaned. However, the centers of Obverse '8' are questionable, as well as the center strokes of Reverse 'M'. Indeterminable without examining the specimen in hand. The photograph doesn't indicate either way. --- Depending on asking price, acquisition may be a no brainer. Also, I would determine whether the dealer will allow you to return the specimen for a refund if you're not satisfied after receipt.
Man I was just reading about these things, I like the debate over 'Geir's Isle' and 'Nova Caesarea,' Although at this point I'm pretty sure historians support the Geir's Isle more than that latter. For those of you unfamiliar, some people believe 'Nova Caesarea' is where the name New Jersey came from. Linguistic erosion of the word "Caesarea" yielding "Jersey" is a bit of a stretch though.... So if I'm not mistaken the current opinion is that New Jersey came from it being called "Geir's Ey", with Geir being an old Norse viking and "ey" translating to island. Tangent. lol
Hi cubenewb, All four of my grandparents are from families who were original European settlers of the Mullica river area of Southern New Jersey. One branch of my father's family still live on the land they acquired in a grant from King James II in 1682. The writ still exists in the Atlantic County heritage museum. It's fairly well accepted that 'New Jersey' was named after Sir George Carteret, a former 17th century governor of the English held Jersey Isles of the coast of France, in honour of his service to the crown during the Cromwell period. Sir George was one of the first large landholders in New Jersey. He and Lord Berkeley virtually owned the entire state at one time. The prevailing theory for how the Jersey Isles acquired their name, is as a corruption of the Roman appellation: 'Nova Cæsarea' -pronounced: 'Nova chez-ár-ee-uh', not 'chez-uh-ree-uh'. Thus Chez-ár-ee became Jersey. I never heard of Geír. Perhaps you are thinking of 'Eyre Haven' which is Dutch for 'egg harbour', the original name of the coastal area of what is now Atlantic county New Jersey, and also the former name of the Mullica river, and the modern town of Egg Harbor, and the old town of Egg Harbor which is now New Gretna. There is also an Egg Harbor township in Atlantic County New Jersey and a great Egg Harbor river. Apparently sea gulls and other shore birds nested in the marshes here in great numbers and eggs were abundant. Nova Cæsarea is to New Jersey as New Amsterdam is to New York. But I don't believe the term Nova Caesarea was ever popularly used. But people in my area think 'I'm' the dummy when I mention that New Jersey was once also known as Nova Cæsarea. The laugh's on them. Best regards, A 12th generation piney.
It's in the mail/post @ALL, I won the coin on ebay for a modest sum. As soon as it arrives from England I'll post some pics so the experts amongst you can make a determination as to its authenticity. If the coin arrives and proves to be wrapped in foil and has a creamy macadamia caramel centre, I won't bother...lol Thanks to everyone for the valuable input. I appreciate the responses. Best regards, JJ
I can only say that the double dentical below the last 7 is typical of the period and not something many counterfeiters would pick up on.
