1786 Straight Rim Clip

It was difficult to get a decent photo of this. It has a straight rim clip and it also has a small but slight bend to it. This coin is considered rare as it has a rarity rating of 6. I can't help but wonder if it was a witch's coin. It's just not silver so I lean to the doubtful side but the thought is there. I was told this is a M 5.7-0.2 but I have no idea what that means.

 

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Do you have any clearer pics ? Miller is a way to tell the difference from variety to variety . Do you know the year ?

 

These are the best photos I could get. It's dated 1786. I was told M 5.7-0.2.

 

Explain, please?

 

Odds are the straight clip is not a genuine clip.

Impossible to tell from the photos, and would
have to be seen in-hand to authenticate, but
it's probably too well worn to be able to detect
any of the authentication points of a clipped planchet.

 

I understand what you are saying but believe me, this is a straight clip. I purchased it from a very reputable dealer and it was examined by local experts on the east coast.

 

OK, but your photos are very dark

 

A witch's coin was usually silver and from this time period. They were bent slightly and carried as a pocket piece to ward off evil spells. It's quite an interesting history and difficult to believe that at one point in time in the early history of the US that this was a belief. But then, a large number of people were burned at the stake for such things.

 

Best I could do. It's a difficult coin to do and all I have in my cell.

 

Thanks. I knew folklore of silver protecting against evil, but was having trouble pulling up details.

 

You're welcome. That's the basics but there is a lot more online.

 

5.7 is the obverse die variety and O.2 is the reverse die. It is not at all unusual to find these coins with bends. Also not unusual to find one that was punched from the edge of the copper stock leaving the straight edge. It is a better variety and pretty decent surfaces.

 

Thanks. The rim has no signs of grinding or sanding. It's as plain as can be.

 

Believed in witches, yes. Burned at the stake, yes but not in what would become the U.S. The most famous of the witch executions were at Salem Mass. and all but one of those were hung. The other one was pressed to death. (Placed under a wooden panel and rocks placed on it until he died of asphyxiation.) Burning witches was a European custom.

 

I would recommend taking a pic from father, but in focus, then cropping.

the end result can be grainy, but grainy is better than blurry IMO

 

I believe the attribution is correct. While the bend and clip are distracting, this is a nice example of an R6 variety.

 

These are cropped photos, taken from about 8" away. Sometimes I take 10 plus photos and delete them until I get a good one. This was the best of the lot.