1009

Important 1737 Higley Copper Finest Known of the Type and of Unbelievable Quality for any Higley Cop

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Important 1737 Higley Copper Finest Known of the Type and of Unbelievable Quality for any Higley Cop
SOLD
210,000.00USD+ (42,000.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2018 Mar 08 @ 23:18UTC-6 : CST/MDT
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Important 1737 Higley Copper
Finest Known of the Type and of Unbelievable Quality for any Higley Copper
Ex Bushnell, Ryder, Boyd, Ford
Connecticut. 1737 Higley or Granby Copper. Three Crowned Hammers, THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE. Crosby 19; Breen-239; Freidus 1.2-B.a; Whitman-8205. Rarity-7. VF-35 PCGS. Obv: standing deer left in a circle, pointing hand and THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE around. Rev: three crowned hammers within circle, pointing hand and I AM GOOD COPPER around followed by an intricate design flourish, 1737 at bottom. Small rim clip at 2 o’clock relative to the deer side. The smooth golden-tan surfaces of this specimen appear hard and glossy at arm’s length, and magnification does little to alter that impression – a trace of planchet porosity can be seen here and there upon a diligent search with a loupe, but it is easily forgiven considering all else.
An amazing rarity, this specimen was called EF in the Ford catalogue, and a case certainly could be made for that grade – but then again, nit-picking on the grading scale has no real effect on the rarity or value of a coin such as this among true specialists. There are some faint and ages-old vertical scratches in the field in front of the deer, with a few tiny nicks also noted for accuracy, though much of this escapes the naked eye. It is no wonder that this specimen realized $212,500 in the Ford sale – an astounding price at a time when Higleys that now realize six-figures were available for under $40,000.
The present specimen is far and away the finest of the three or so examples of the variety currently reported. These include the Parmelee-Norweb:1238 (1987) specimen called VG-8, later graded at PCGS as AG-03 (we have been told that this is also the PO-01 in PCGS’s Population report). NGC recently certified the well-worn and heavily scratched Eric Newman specimen; despite the aforementioned issues the coin was graded VG08, and realized $76,325 in Heritage’s May 2014 sale.
At the time of the Ford sale (May, 2004:270), this specimen was the finer of only two known examples. In the ensuing 14 years, Newman’s VG is the only coin that has tumbled out of the numismatic woodwork, and no other example of this rarity comes anywhere close to the overall quality offered here!
If you have been waiting 14 years for another “shot” at this special link to early American coinage ingenuity, now is the time to strike – unless, of course, you have another 14 years (or more) to ponder.
From Stack’s sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part II, May, 2004, lot 270; earlier Charles Ira Bushnell Collection, S&H Chapman sale, June 1882, lot 190; Henry Chapman, February 1923; Hillyer Ryder; F.C.C. Boyd Estate.
PCGS Population: 1; none finer for the type.



PCGS Coin Facts