The image below is courtesy of Heritage. This is not my image. The Bar Copper is my lifelong favorite coin. I own a very nice AU details piece that was affordable and eye appealing to me. The coin below is available on Heritage's upcoming auction. While it is well beyond my price range, I much enjoy viewing the coin and watching the bidding. I had assumed this would likely be the top Bar Copper around. I just couldn't imagine a finer example existing. However when I looked it up on PCGS, it tells me that there are three pieces better than this one. Now, I would like to see those. How would I go about finding the PCGS images of these coins that I do not know the certification number for?
PCGS says they have graded three Bar Cents in MS-66, but "Coin Facts" does note list any records of a public sale. I don't know how you could see the pictures unless one of them is in a registry. The best example they have on "Coin Facts" is graded MS-65, which looks a bit generous to me.
So then there is no way to look at a series on PCGS? only way to track it down is with the certification number then.... Oh well. Thanks, John.
If it has not sold at one of the major auction houses that PCGS tracks or isn't in CoinFacts (which reduced the number of photos they show several years back-you used to be able to see almost every photo of a coin that had a TrueView photo), then there is unfortunately no way.
When in doubt..... Google. Images of one of the 66BN’s here, and what a beauty it is: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24813/lot/26/?category=list
Eric Newman was a very well known collector of colonial era coins. I would guess that this token was part of his collection and PCGS noted that on the label so future owners of this piece would know the provenance.
Newman also documented a fairly deceptive counterfeit example in his research; oddly enough they resurfaced in the past couple of years at one of the top TPG's...
