1787 NJ 1/2P Ghost Nova, Maris 73-aa, BN MS(PCGS#763355)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

1381

Erhaltungsgrad

VF20BN

Preis

18.000

Losbeschreibung

151.4 grains. A really eye-catching specimen of this famous variety, a die marriage whose hosts often steal the spotlight from the New Jersey overstrike. While Connecticut coppers are a fairly common host on this variety, we know of only one other example struck on a 1787 Mailed Bust Connecticut, namely the Henry Garrett:1442 coin that we last sold in May 2019 (PCGS EF-40, $8,400). That piece, struck over a 1787 Miller 10-E, was among the examples of this variety cited in Mossman's <em>Money of the American Colonies and Confederation</em> (1993), Appendix 2, but Dr. Mossman didn't know about this piece.<p>The surfaces are choice medium brown, glossy and almost entirely smooth, offering exceptionally positive visual appeal. Both sides are well centered, with denticles around the upper left obverse and lower left reverse. As for the designs at the centers, the Connecticut host and New Jersey parasite are having a bit of a tussle. The plow and date of the New Jersey are clear and complete. CAESAREA is pretty much all there except for the R. The center, however, is dominated by the Connecticut portrait, with the entire outline of the back of the head taking over where a horsehead might be. C and EC of CONNEC are also discernable. The reverse shows the top half of the shield, the top half of the seated figure from the Connecticut, and a legend that appears to read LURIBUS UNUM IN. Only minor marks are seen, some subtle hairlines near UNUM, and a vertical mark at the right side of the date. Given the sharpness of what is present, one could easily argue for a grade 20 points higher, but the person who buys this piece won't be buying it because of what the certified grade is anyway.<p>As with the other Plaited Mane varieties, forming a Condition Census of this variety is far from a science. The 2024 SHI Census lists eight coins, ranging in grade from EF+ to VF+. The top ranked piece is E Pluribus Unum:6216, ex Spiro, a PCGS AU-53 that we sold for $9,000 in November 2019. The PCGS EF-45 example in the following lot (6217) from the same auction is ranked seventh, and the Bareford-Partrick coin is ranked eighth. None of the other listed specimens have sold in the last 20 years. We like this one just as much as most of the pieces on the census.<p>Mr. August acquired this privately from the Cyril Hawley collection. Hawley, the author of <em>Auctori Connec and Other Emissions</em> (1959), was an active collector in the 1950s and 1960s who specialized in the colonial issues of his native Connecticut. Most of his Connecticut coppers were acquired by Q. David Bowers and became part of the collection sold in the 1975 EAC sale. He owned no less than seven Higley coppers, a group that was acquired by Bill Anton.