1787 NJ 1/2P Wide Ears Below Gap Maris 32-T, BN MS(PCGS#688362)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

1316

Grade

AU55BN

Price

4,320

Lot Description

133.6 grains. A very attractive New Jersey copper, with even light brown surfaces showing good contrast with the darker olive highlights around design elements. Well struck and notably free of problems, this piece is ideally centered on the reverse and aligned trivially to 7 o'clock on the obverse. Denticles frame the entire reverse, while the obverse lacks them only at base and lower left. Aside from a light fissure running through the plow handles, this is about as nice as one could hope for at this level of wear. The smooth surfaces show nice gloss. The die state is crisp and early, before obverse die failure begins to swallow central obverse detail.<p>Despite its high certified grade, this piece didn't make the cut for inclusion on the SHI Census, which includes a single remarkable gem, one more UNC, a pair of AUs, and six coins graded EF+ to round out the top 10. The exceptional PCGS AU-55 Dr. Gordon Shaw coin, ranked fifth on the SHI Census, brought $8,225 in our sale of March 2017, while an unranked PCGS AU-55 in our August 2021 sale brought $2,640. The PCGS AU-53 E Pluribus Unum coin also missed the Condition Census cut; it brought $3,120 in November 2019.