I bought this from Jeff Rock, of "Rosa Americana," recently off eBay. Basically, I just liked the way it looked, but it has some interesting commentary attached: "Struck on an extremely small planchet, measuring just 27mm, though thick enough to be of nearly full weight." "..it is either overstruck on another issue, (though no trace of the undertype can be seen) or..it was struck on a planchet produced by something other than the regular planchet cutter.." about 42 examples known, ex. Ken Mote, Mike Ringo. (info. from Rosa American Ltd, fall 2007 catalog)
Looks beautiful! :thumb: I like how it has bold details, especially the reverse since usually these are worn and not struck as well
Thanks, it has enough detail to appreciate the design, but not so much as to bankrupt me!! It also has a nice mellow golden color to it that doesn't really show in the photos. The seller speculated it might even be brass.
You forgot to provide the attribution! It's a 32.4-x.5 and it is a URS-7 rarity (R-5). :thumb: I know Jeff and he knows his early coppers and I'd recommend him to anyone! He's taught me a lot and it's going to take years for me to catch up to him but I've only been collecting these for 9 months so I'm a newbie. :goofer: Love it! :eat: Ribbit Ps: The planchet isn't perfectly round! You can see it better on the reverse pic and I have one (1788 16.3-N) that is very similar.
I agree, he knows his stuff. I have learned a lot from reading the auction listings, and the R.A. catalogs are a bargain, imo.
I thought I'd share one of my newest additions to my Connecticut collection. It's a 1787 37.13-HH and also a R-5. This one cost me quite a bit, since it is one of the finest examples known, if not the finest, and is the most I've ever spent on a copper to date but it probably won't be the most expensive for long. I love the early coppers! :bow: Ribbit
That copper has some phenomenal detail. The planchet is interesting- very smooth in some areas and rough in others- like there was an inclusion or something (behind the bust). The curls behind the seated figure's head show up extremely well. A nice find, congrats!
That one is probably a perfect example of all possible planchet flaws possible with Connecticuts. That's one of the things I like about them since no two are exact (rarely). :goofer: On my 33.4-q, Liberty's face is missing due to a planchet flaw. It looks like Freddie Kruger had some fun with her. One of my favorites that is way off center and has planchet problems, is my 1788 M13-A.1: The biggest planchet flaw on it ended up not getting struck so it shows how bad some of the planchets where to begin with. Also, this is a CONNLC error variety and the CONNLC portion ended up nicely placed, with it being so off center. Then, on some Connecticuts, there are striking problems with one side, where one side is gorgeous but the other is barely discernable. :goofer: But that's early copper for ya! :thumb: Ribbit
Was the copper mined "locally," ie, poorly refined? When you think of what they had to work with, human and animal muscle, fire, air, it is truly remarkable that these little pieces of folk art were produced at all, which of course could be said of all coinage for several thousand years! (pardon the run-on sentence, one glass of wine too many, hic!)
I know France had similar issues with batches of copper. The 1717 Copper Sol is so rare today because of bad copper. Ribbit Ps: Did you get to watch this one end: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=310143191627 That was so exicting to watch it leap in price by thousands as the last few seconds ticked away. I just wish I could have been one of the top bidders.
It was a 1787 56-XX, with only a handful known. I wanted it but knew it would go out of my range but it was fun to watch the last few seconds as it went from a few dollars to thousands. :goofer: Ribbit
Wow! Seller probably didn't know what he had-- that would be a pleasant surprise-- or maybe not, if it's worth thousands more!!
Just like the seller of that Fugio that's probably running around the house looking for more of them to sell. Ribbit :whistle:
Here ya go, Charles: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250427933171 See if you can figure out why that 14-O went so high? Ribbit :goofer:
