I posted this a week ago with poor pictures. I finally got the coin in hand. Most suggested it maybe a 37.5-a with the crappy pics, but would need better ones. Can i get a confirmation on this? It’s the only really good example i have, other than the ones i have that are in dug condition with little detail. Also what would you grade this?
Actually, the pictures were plenty good enough before to positively identify it, no question on the 37.5-e, but love seeing better ones, it's a nice coin! I collect these by die variety, many of the varieties can only be identified by small differences in the location of the punctuation or other minute details. On low grade examples it can be very challenging, I've spent days going over a single coin. With all the details intact, this one was a slam dunk! Any other questions on it ask away.
Thank you for your input. I do have a couple questions. I haven’t collected copper in a long time. I’ve been a silver guy for a long time, but with silver up I’m shifting gears. Do you think i over paid at 200? What do you think it will grade at? Are those scratches or flaws, maybe both. Is there a way to tell where it was minted? I read there was 3 locations.
It's quite nice, so I don't think $200 is out of line. Honestly, even though I collect these I don't really grade them. There is so much variation in planchet quality, and strike quality, I just don't get hung up on a numerical grade. I do look for detail, color and surface quality. Nice light chocolate brown is quite desirable. Most of what is on your coin are planchet striations, but there is minor damage. You aren't going to find many of these that don't have it though, and I'd say this is better than most. The Connecticut minting history is pretty complex, all of the 1788 dated pieces and some of the others are actually contemporary counterfeits minted at Machin's Mill in Newburgh New York. Most of the 350+ varieties, yours included, were minted at the legal mint in New Haven Connecticut. The mint changed hands during it's time in operation and eventually switched over to minting the Fugio cents, that's a story in itself! There is a lot of reading available, one inexpensive book that covers these as well as other colonial and state coinage is the "Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins". Quite inexpensive and well worth the investment.
No problem, colonials are my favorite coins, but they just don't come up on here that often. I love the chance to talk about them when they do!
