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ANA Signature US Coin Sale 1258 2-6 Aug 2017
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Colonials
(1737) COPPER Higley Copper, Broad Axe -- Environmental Damage -- PCGS Genuine. Fine Details. Crosby VIII-24, Freidus 3.2-C, W-8260, R.7. Although several types of copper coins circulated in colonial America in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, none of those issues were actually minted in the new world. The St. Patrick coinage was produced in Ireland and made legal tender in New Jersey in May 1682. William Wood produced his Rosa Americana issues in England in the 1720s, along with his Hibernia coinage that was intended for circulation in Ireland. There were others, including the French colonial coinage, but all of those issues were struck in Europe. While silver coins were produced in Massachusetts in 1652, the first copper coins struck anywhere in colonial America were the 1737 Higley coppers that were minted in Connecticut.
The actual number produced will likely never be known. However, it is known that these pieces were coined of exceptionally high quality copper, often called pure copper. The high quality of the copper is one of the reasons, perhaps the main reason, that so few of these pieces exist today.
The large number of die varieties suggests a significant production. Dan Freidus discussed 15 die varieties in his outstanding 1994 article: "Die Varieties of Higley Coppers" that appeared in The Token: America's Other Money that was edited by Richard Doty and published in New York as part of the American Numismatic Society's Coinage of the Americas Conference. Part of his article was a registry of all known examples of each variety. Freidus enumerated 63 Higley coppers, an average of just four surviving examples per variety. While several more have turned up since the publication of his article, the population is certainly still below 80 examples.
While Freidus listed eight examples of his 3.2-C die marriage, we know of 12 examples today, and two of those are held in museum collections, one in the Smithsonian Institution and the other in the British Museum. This variety is the most plentiful of the 15 varieties, and yet just 10 pieces are available to collectors. Such is the rarity of Higley coppers.
This example has considerable detail that PCGS rates as Fine details, although other observers may suggest that the piece warrants a rating of VF details. The sable surfaces show heavy porosity that is evenly distributed across the obverse and reverse. However, the flan is complete and round with no apparent scratches, rim bumps, or other flaws. Listed on page 51 of the 2018 Guide Book.
Ex: Allison W. Jackman Collection (Henry Chapman, 6/1918), lot 73; later, Ted L. Craige Collection (Stack's Bowers, 3/2013), lot 198; Surf City Collection.
From The Don Willis Collection of US Colonial Coinage
HID02901242017
(1737) COPPER Higley Copper, Broad Axe -- Environmental Damage -- PCGS Genuine. Fine Details. Crosby VIII-24, Freidus 3.2-C, W-8260, R.7. Although several types of copper coins circulated in colonial America in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, none of those issues were actually minted in the new world. The St. Patrick coinage was produced in Ireland and made legal tender in New Jersey in May 1682. William Wood produced his Rosa Americana issues in England in the 1720s, along with his Hibernia coinage that was intended for circulation in Ireland. There were others, including the French colonial coinage, but all of those issues were struck in Europe. While silver coins were produced in Massachusetts in 1652, the first copper coins struck anywhere in colonial America were the 1737 Higley coppers that were minted in Connecticut.
The actual number produced will likely never be known. However, it is known that these pieces were coined of exceptionally high quality copper, often called pure copper. The high quality of the copper is one of the reasons, perhaps the main reason, that so few of these pieces exist today.
The large number of die varieties suggests a significant production. Dan Freidus discussed 15 die varieties in his outstanding 1994 article: "Die Varieties of Higley Coppers" that appeared in The Token: America's Other Money that was edited by Richard Doty and published in New York as part of the American Numismatic Society's Coinage of the Americas Conference. Part of his article was a registry of all known examples of each variety. Freidus enumerated 63 Higley coppers, an average of just four surviving examples per variety. While several more have turned up since the publication of his article, the population is certainly still below 80 examples.
While Freidus listed eight examples of his 3.2-C die marriage, we know of 12 examples today, and two of those are held in museum collections, one in the Smithsonian Institution and the other in the British Museum. This variety is the most plentiful of the 15 varieties, and yet just 10 pieces are available to collectors. Such is the rarity of Higley coppers.
This example has considerable detail that PCGS rates as Fine details, although other observers may suggest that the piece warrants a rating of VF details. The sable surfaces show heavy porosity that is evenly distributed across the obverse and reverse. However, the flan is complete and round with no apparent scratches, rim bumps, or other flaws. Listed on page 51 of the 2018 Guide Book.
Ex: Allison W. Jackman Collection (Henry Chapman, 6/1918), lot 73; later, Ted L. Craige Collection (Stack's Bowers, 3/2013), lot 198; Surf City Collection.
From The Don Willis Collection of US Colonial Coinage
HID02901242017