The Midwest Winter Sale 2009
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Please Note: A 15% Buyers' Premium is added to the hammer price of all lots in this sale.
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(About The Images)
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Lot Title:
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(1670 - 1675) New Jersey St. Patrick or Mark Newby Farthing PCGS VF-35.
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Description:
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St. Patrick coppers possess a history for which comprehension has evolved over time. Research and recent efforts to identify all the die marriages for both the small and large planchet coins have led to new theories as to the role of these coins in the early American colonies. Originally minted for use in Ireland, a large number of them were hauled to West New Jersey by one Mark Newbie in 1681. On May 18, 1682 the General Free Assembly of West New Jersey granted Newbie's coppers legal tender status with minor stipulations, and thus the coins are found in the Redbook and collected today as "colonial coins". Tradition has caused smaller versions to be referred to as "farthings" and the larger planchets "halfpennies", but recent numismatic trends suggest that coins of all sizes were intended to represent a single contemporary denomination, likely the halfpenny.
The coin at hand is graded with curious pinpoint precision as VF-35 by PCGS, though no accepted system of grading standards has ever been published for this series in your cataloger's experience, certainly not a system that is so precise for a very imprecisely manufactured item. What is important to note is that the surface quality of this pleasing specimen is better than average, and the coin is reasonably well centered, particularly on the (presumed) obverse. Unfortunately, the brass splasher has toned down nearly to the same color as the rest of the coin, though it was originally nicely placed at the location of the crown. This coin benefits from a limited supply of the tiny pits and fissures that plague many examples, and an interesting rim pit appears at the very top of both sides.
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Low Estimate:
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$3,500.00 |
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High Estimate:
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$4,000.00 |
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Lot Status:
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Bidding has been closed for this lot. |
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Hammered Price: |
$4,250.00
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Price Realized:
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$4,887.50 |
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Price history for items of the same classification:
No history for this lot classification has been found. |