1785 1/2P Inimica Tyrannis, Large Stars, BN MS(PCGS#45411)

Spring 2023 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1066

等级

XF45BN

价格

635,609

详细说明

Superb INIMICA TYRANNIS AMERICA Confederatio Copper Large Circle Reverse The Whitman EncyclopediaPlate Coin 1785 Inimica Tyrannis / Confederatio. W-5630, Breen-1123. Rarity-7. Copper. INIMICA TYRANNIS AMERICA, Large Circle. EF-45 (PCGS). 119.5 grains. 28.8 mm. 0 degree die rotation. A majestic and high grade specimen. Choice dark chocolate brown surfaces retain the sort of gloss barely removed from frost and luster, indicative of a high grade and original piece of copper. A natural planchet striation is visible at the base of the obverse device, affecting R of AMERICA. A tiny speck of verdigris is present at the left side of the altar, and a whisper of it is noted around the reverse border above FED. The strike is superb, with every star fully delineated and the obverse device standing out in fine relief. Only the forward leg is a bit soft, as always seen. The centering is ideal on the reverse and nearly so on the obverse, missing only the denticles from 6 to 8 o'clock. Visible marks are all trivial, though we note a short scrape between MI of INIMICA. The eye appeal on both sides is superb. This is an extreme rarity. The Newman Unc. is far and away the finest known, graded MS-63 BN (NGC) and sold for $352,500 in its November 2014 auction offering. This is undoubtedly the second finest known. There were three additional cited by the Norweb cataloger: Norweb's, Roper's, and Garrett's; none of those are as nice as this one. A piece described as VF, found on a Metropolitan Coin Company fixed price list from 1961, was cited by the Newman cataloger. The piece in the 1910 Mougey sale, lot 1400, appears to be different from all of these and missed on the usual census listings. There are probably seven survivors, but it could be eight. Among these, the pecking order of first and second best is unquestioned. No design better summarizes the attitude of post-Revolutionary America than this one: America as a native warrior placing a Liberty cap on the Altar of Liberty while crushing the British crown underfoot within a peripheral legend INIMICA TYRANNIS AMERICANA or America, Enemy of Tyrants. While Taxay attributes authorship of this design concept to Robert Morris, it undoubtedly came instead from Morris' co-author of the tract Taxay cites: Propositions respecting the coinage of gold, silver, and copper. That piece was published in 1785, based on the May 13, 1785 report of the grand committee of the Continental Congress. The primary authors were Morris, who gave voice to his proposal that evolved into the Nova Constellatio patterns, and Thomas Jefferson, who preferred a competing decimal structure that ended up winning out in the long run. Pages 1 through 6 of the report, as published, were signed by Morris. Pages 9 through 12 were noted as including "NOTES on the Establishment of a MONEY MINT, and of a COINAGE for the UNITED STATES. By Mr. Jefferson." But pages 7 and 8 were unsigned, the work of the committee. Most of these pages were dominated by what was essentially a single long math problem. The bottom of page 8 featured an argument for a minute basic denomination - a Morris argument - and a final paragraph that read: "Lastly, as to the names above chosen, they, like all other names, are arbitrary, and better may perhaps be substituted. The word crown occurred from the following idea of an impression for the gold coin - An Indian, his right foot on a crown, a bow in his left-hand, in his right-hand thirteen arrows; and the inscription MANUS INIMICA TYRANNIS." It should be pointed out that the design concept was patterned after the seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Committee member Thomas Jefferson ended his term as governor of Virginia ten and a half months before the committee read its report. Julian P. Boyd, editor of Volume 7 of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, noted in a footnote that the paragraph in question came from a manuscript in the hand of Gouverneur Morris and was accompanied by a sketch by him of the reverse of this coin: 13 individual stars composing a single radiant starburst surrounded by the words CONFEDERATIO and 1785. Though the obverse design was surely Jefferson's, rich with the Virginian anti-monarchic spirit he turned into prose in the Declaration of Independence, the conversion of this design from concept to physical coin was perhaps the work of Gouverneur Morris, who was also one of the three partners on the Nova Constellatio coinage to which this is linked by die tree. The VIPs who received one of these coins were probably largely red-letter names known to schoolkids, but evidently they didn't think much of the coppers, as most were simply spent. The number produced must have been tiny, as only seven examples of this variety are confirmed today. Another eight of the Small Circle reverse are recorded, bringing the total for the type to 15 pieces. Most are well worn, a significant proportion are corroded from ground exposure, and only one is Mint State. For sheer desirability, with its choice color and high sharpness, this is probably the second best surviving example of the entire type. Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the Howland Wood Collection; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006. To view supplemental information and all items from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, click here. PCGS# 45411. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA. Click here to see Coins in Motion.[“Coins]