I picked up two early coppers at the FUN Show: This Nova and a Connecticut Draped Bust Left in AU-58. The Connecticut was from Syd Martin's collection but I can't show it here as the slab was cracked and the dealer is sending it back to PCGS to be reholdered. But here's the Nova. It's the Crosby 3-C variety with Blunt Rays and CONSTELATIO is misspelled using only one L. The reverse is rotated a full 45 degrees. Experts have argued over which side is the obverse and which the reverse. I tend to call the date side the reverse but you can make your own choice and no one will really gainsay you. These coppers were the result of a 1784 private joint venture of Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris and William Constable, the inspiration derived from the abandonment of the idea of a Federal Mint. Consensus seems to be these were struck by a private mint in Birmingham, England and that 1783-dated coins were actually struck in 1785. Design inspiration seems to have derived from the Nova Constellatio Pattern Coinage that displayed the decimal units of a "bit" of 100 units, a "quint" of 500 units, and a "mark" of 1000 units. They circulated as money in the Confederation as attested by the worn nature of many survivors. A few years later they were devalued in commerce and many became undertypes for Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont coppers.
Love these old Coins and especially the CT. Coppers of which one I own. Hey, I'm from there what can I say. LOL.
I love the history associated with the Nova Constellation pieces. I was bound and determined to find myself one and my only standard was that I wanted a clear and discernible eye. I finally found one, but it sure isn't as well struck as your example.
That's a really nice Nova, thanks for the review on the history of these. I have a couple, a rare 4-c that is in pretty rough shape, and a blunt rays that is a little nicer (with a small planchet inclusion that shows up as a white dot).
Those are very nice examples you guys have posted. My own example, well.., not so nice (but it was very cheap), part of a lot of US coins I bought many years ago.
