1786 NJ 1/2P Maris 25-S, Eye in Neck, BN MS(PCGS#767886)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

1307

Erhaltungsgrad

VF35BN

Preis

19.200

Losbeschreibung

133.7 grains. Attractive dark steel brown, a bit lighter at obverse periphery and across the reverse, with mostly glossy, smooth surfaces. An especially eye-appealing example of this rare and distinctive variety, showing no significant issues beyond standard circulation. Both sides are well centered and show fully realized designs. The reverse is rotated a bit clockwise. A little bit of dark encrustation blends in within the plow and some letters of the obverse legend. The obverse periphery shows the foldover lamination texture common of many 1786 New Jerseys, but this interrupts nothing, as no denticles are visible. A couple of individual and trivial hairlines are noted, one above N of NOVA, another between EA of CAESAREA, along with a few on the reverse. A shallow scrape under star 4 on the reverse is the most notable flaw on that side. The surface quality is good, with no major fissures or corrosion, and the eye appeal is excellent for the issue.<p>The SHI Condition Census ranked this as fifth best in 2013 and fourth best in the 2024 update. The finest, impounded in the New Jersey Historical Society, is listed as VF+, as is the Maris-Garrett coin in the Anton holdings. The third finest apparently hasn't offered publicly since the Bowers and Merena sale of September 1998. The fifth and sixth finest in the updated census, both of which trail this coin, are the Ford-Partrick coin (NGC F-15, sold for $5,280 in 2021) and the net-graded Taylor coin, last offered in the 2009 C4 sale. After that, it's rough sledding for New Jersey enthusiasts, as problem coins of this variety are the rule rather than the exception. In fact, your cataloger can't recall ever seeing an example from these dies he would call choice (though scrawled lot viewing notes in the 2003 Ford catalog called that piece "fairly choice" and the Anton coin, illustrated in the SHI update, looks very nice as well). This piece is a worthy addition to any advanced collection, representing a variety that not only doesn't exist in appreciably higher grade, but is incredibly challenging to find with any eye appeal at all.