The older I get, the more my collecting tends to favor our nation’s infancy. I been on the lookout for one of these for several years now. They seem to be difficult to acquire with a clear and crisp eye. I am absolutely tickled to death with this piece. Enjoy…
Very nice, Randy. Yours is a very solid VF30. Sure is one to be proud of. Are those cracks on the front of the slab or just pet hair/lint?
@Randy Abercrombie ! I've always wanted to find one of these while Metal Detecting. What is the denomination of this coin? I've read their in Units?? I should know this coming from Connecticut.
They are patterns, showing how a finished coin would look. They were 5 Units for copper and three larger units for silver ones. They were not introduced for production. This is how I perceive it, others may be able to fill in some more detail
Hey @expat , @Randy Abercrombie !! I don't know if you guys have this link but this explains just about everything pertaining to the Nova's. Constellatio Nova Coppers - Introduction (nd.edu)
These were struck in the UK and were widely circulated. The design was copied and a very few were authorized to be struck bearing the unit designation that was the precursor to our dollar coinage.
So @Randy Abercrombie , how many do you think still exist of the "original's"? Do you think one could get one more easily from the UK directly? How can one tell the difference the originals and the copies?
There are distinct differences in the specimens we copied that had bore the unit designation. And there are only a handful of those.