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STACK'S BOWERS: COLONIAL COINSStack's Bowers will be hosting their November 2026 Showcase Auction, including Colonial Coins, on November 16. Select items are discussed below. -Garrett 
1652 Pine Tree Shilling. Large Planchet. Noe-8, Salmon 7-E, W-740. Rarity-4. Without Pellets at Trunk, Ligatured NE in Legend. AU-58 (PCGS). 71.0 grains. A spectacularly toned Noe-8. On this piece the obverse shows iridescent gold, rose and pale blue while the reverse is a richer combination of iridescent reddish-russet and cobalt blue with softer golden-gray in the field areas. The tree is a little soft at center, but most of the branches can be made out. The peripheral letters are a bit soft at right and (especially) left, being sharpest at top. On the reverse the date and denomination are a little soft, peripheral letters likewise despite the fact that they show no die breakage from an earlier state of the die. Both sides are bright in places and show some original mint frost that is particularly pronounced in the protected areas around and among the design elements. We've handled a number of nice AUs for this Noe number, as well as a few Uncs, and this ex Boyd-Ford specimen features prominently in that group. Provenance: From the Emerald Coast Collection. Earlier ex F.C.C. Boyd; John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XII, October 2005, lot 97.
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Norweb to Craige via Richard Picker Undated (1659) Lord Baltimore Shilling. Hodder 1-A, W-1080. Rarity-6. Large Bust, MARIÆ. EF-45 (PCGS). 77.16 grains. As beautiful an example as has been offered in recent memory, clearly an About Uncirculated coin if there ever was one. Strong frosty luster persists on both sides, a bit reflective and particularly rich on the reverse. The toning is old and lovely, with pale blue fields fading into gold at the obverse periphery, while the reverse shows bold concentric rings of gold and blue that stand as the most attractive toning your cataloger has ever seen on a Lord Baltimore shilling. The fields show light scattered marks and old hairlines, but the only notable issue is a long toned scratch down the cheek and neck of Calvert, extending into the field below the &. The strike is superb, including hair detail rarely seen even on higher grade pieces. The grade, as assigned, seems to be a net grade for the scratch, or ignorant of the typical strike for this issue: where wear is present it may stand out, but only because those areas (central hair, for instance) are rarely struck up enough to be worn. A coin with this much flash, luster, and pizzazz is difficult to assess as only an EF. Ted Craige once described this piece as "Choice Gem!," and indeed its eye appeal far surpasses nearly every other Lord Baltimore shilling in existence. Interestingly, this variety was not present in the Norweb Collection sales, though another Rarity-8 Lord Baltimore shilling was present. Perhaps Mrs. Norweb decided having two Baltimore shillings was a bit much and traded this one away. She made similar choices with her Lord Baltimore groats (she owned the unique Small Head but not the common variety). Looking at the Norweb material, the Lord Baltimore sixpence in Norweb III:3401 has very similar toning. Its provenance is Parmelee:294 to Harlan Page Smith to the magnificent Robert C. W. Brock collection at the University of Pennsylvania. Could this piece have followed the same path on its way to receiving such lovely toning? Whatever its longer history, this is a special example of the largest of the Baltimore issues, surely bound for a great cabinet. The terms of Calvert's grant called for him to be guaranteed all rights enjoyed by the Bishop of Durham, who had issued coins in his own name during the Middle Ages. Thus, Calvert had shillings, sixpences, groats (fourpence), and copper pennies (or denariums) coined bearing his bust and Arms, and passed local ordinances in Maryland calling for their mandatory circulation. He ran afoul of British authorities, who frowned on him exporting silver from the mother country no matter what the terms of his claim may have been. Despite his legal troubles, coins of every denomination reached Maryland and began circulating there in the early 1660s. Today, most survivors of this denomination are in poor condition, often holed and plugged after use in jewelry, badly polished, well-worn, or a combination of the above. While sixpence often survive in decent grade, thanks in part to a hoard of about 20 pieces located in England two decades ago, the shillings rarely fared so well. While a few high grade pieces exist, more than one of them shows what may be charitably called negative eye appeal. This superior PCGS EF-45 is a noteworthy exception, ranking among the nicest-looking examples from the Hodder 1-A dies that we have ever had the privilege of bringing to auction. Provenance: From the Emerald Coast Collection. Earlier ex Norweb Collection; Richard Picker; Ted L. Craige; our sale of the Ted L. Craige Collection, March 2013 Baltimore Auction, lot 4.
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Ex Richard Picker Undated (1737) Higley Copper. Freidus 3.2-C, W-8260. Rarity-7-. VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE / J CUT MY WAY THROUGH, Broad Axe. VG-10 (PCGS). 139.5 grains. Mostly smooth chocolate and steel-brown with excellent eye appeal for a well worn Higley copper. Several dull old nicks are noted above and behind the deer, only minor circulation marks present otherwise. A little patch of pitting is present at the southwest obverse periphery, but this piece is as free of roughness as any Higley of this grade we can recall. The words VALUE ME are mostly present, though the rest of the obverse legend is soft; III is sharp and the deer is well outlined. The reverse legend is complete and the axe is also mostly outlined, but for the developing bulge below the handle that limits details in that area. There are about a dozen examples known of the Freidus 3.2-C die variety which makes this the most common, or better put, the least excruciatingly rare die variety in the series. The (1737) VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE / J CUT MY WAY THROUGH, Broad Axe type comprises three die varieties and about 20 total specimens making this one of the more available types of Higley coppers and therefore a good candidate for those collectors looking to own a single example of the coinage. Indeed, the ownership of any Higley copper is a point of pride for collectors, and this is a remarkably nice one. Numismatic tradition identifies Dr. Samuel Higley of Granby, Connecticut as the producer of these enigmatic copper tokens. A medical doctor with a degree from Yale College, Higley was also a blacksmith who performed many experiments in metallurgy. In 1728 he acquired some land in Simsbury (later known as Granby), a site known for its copper mines. Higley's mining operation was apparently a successful one, much of the high quality copper extracted being exported to England. Sometime around 1737 Higley is thought to have produced a limited quantity of copper tokens valued at threepence, perhaps using metal from his own mine. The pieces seem to have circulated almost exclusively in and around Granby, although not without resistance on the part of the local inhabitants. Since the tokens were similar in size to the contemporary English halfpence, valuing these pieces at threepence seemed inappropriate. Accordingly, most later issues included the inscription VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE, although an indication of the threepence denomination was retained in the form of a Roman numeral III on the obverse below the standing deer. Assigning these copper tokens to Dr. Higley has its problems, for he died at sea in May 1737 while en route to England with a shipment of copper from his own mine. Since the date 1737 would not have been used in Connecticut until March 25 of that year (New Year's Day at the time), this left only a narrow window of time for Higley to produce 1737-dated tokens before setting out on what proved to be his final voyage. Then there's the case of the later Higley coppers dated 1739, which were almost certainly not produced by Higley. Once again numismatic tradition weighs in to tell us that Higley's son John continued his mining operations and, presumably, the associated coinage activity. If so, he may have issued the 1739-dated pieces in connection with Rev. Timothy Woodbridge and William Cradock. Provenance: From the Emerald Coast Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) sale of the Richard Picker Collection, May 1991, lot 92; our (Stack's) Fall 1991 Fixed Price List, lot 14; our (Stack's) sale of the Peter Scherff Collection of Colonial Coins, March 2010 Selections from the Estate of Louis E. Eliasberg, Jr. and the Collection of Chester L. Krause sale, lot 2106.
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Ex Wurtzbach and Brand Collections 1787 Excelsior Copper. W-5785. Rarity-6. Eagle on Globe Facing Left. EF-45 (PCGS). A sharp and attractive example of this classic type. Nicely centered on both sides, with all but the top of the eagle's head, bottom of a few letters in EXCELSIOR, and the top of the letters US in PLURIBUS on the planchet. The Heraldic Eagle side shows denticles intermittently from 5 to 7 o'clock, obverse with a faint trace of denticulation at 3 to 4 o'clock. The boldness to the major design elements in and around the centers is impressive, and the visual appeal is nice, with generally olive-brown surfaces and hints of crimson nestled around many of the devices, especially on the reverse. The latter color is associated with minor surface scale that does not detract, surfaces with no singularly mentionable marks and good gloss. With the Articles of Confederation reserving coinage rights for the individual states, in early 1787 several petitions reached the Legislature in New York seeking approval to issue copper coins. In the end, however, the New York Legislature decided against authorizing a new coinage and instead opted to regulate the copper coins already in circulation. Even so, several unauthorized copper issues made their appearance in the state, primarily from the private mint known as Machin's Mills, located at the outlet of Orange Pond near Newburgh, and those enterprises operated by John Bailey and Ephraim Brasher in and near New York City. The Nova Eborac and Excelsior pieces are attributed to Bailey and Brasher, although beyond that little is known either of their overall coinage operations or the specifics of these issues. The Excelsior pieces are far rarer than their Nova Eborac counterparts. There are three basic varieties of the former type, combining an obverse with the New York Arms and the word EXCELSIOR with a Heraldic Eagle reverse. One of those varieties shows a Heraldic Eagle with the arrows in the talon at left, the so-called Transposed Arrows reverse, W-5775. The other two use the same Heraldic Eagle dies but two different New York Arms dies, one showing the tiny eagle atop the shield facing to the left, as seen here, and the other showing that tiny eagle facing to the right (W-5780, offered above). The Transposed Arrows variety is the rarest, with just six known. This is the more common of the two others, although we caution bidders that most survivors of the W-5785 in numismatic hands are in low grades, and often with significant impairments. Indeed, our typical offering for this type is in the Fine to VF grade range, with surface and environmental damage topping the list among problems to expect. The Emerald Coast collector's discerning eye clearly recognized the rarity of such smooth, problem-free surfaces as seen here which, when combined with above average definition, makes for a coin that would be difficult to improve upon for the collector seeking a single Excelsior copper for type purposes, or the specialist who desires a superior example of the W-5785 type. We have offered only one sharper example in recent years, the PCGS AU-50 in our March 2017 sale of the Anthony Bettancourt Collection. Yet while that piece retained more definition than seen here, it also carried several noticeable marks, including a number of nicks at central reverse and an unfortunate scrape on the obverse through the first letter E in EXCELSIOR. We find the Emerald Coast specimen more pleasing and overall finer, and are confident that knowledgeable bidders will agree. It is comparable in most respects to the Sydney F. Martin coin, also certified EF-45 by PCGS, that realized $21,600 in our Spring 2023 Auction installment of his remarkable collection. Provenance: From the Emerald Coast Collection. Earlier ex Carl Wurtzbach; Virgil Brand; later, Heritage's Baltimore ANA Signature Auction of July-August 2008, lot 1483.
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1786 Vermont Copper. Landscape. RR-7, Bressett 5-E, W-2025. Rarity-3. VERMONTENSIUM. AU-53 (PCGS). Highly desirable quality and strong eye appeal combine to make this a noteworthy type candidate in a Landscape Vermont. Detail on both sides is bold to sharp for most major design elements, only the end of the plow handle and left side of the mountains are soft due to obverse die swell that is very common for examples of this RR number. Centering is good on that side, reverse just a bit off center to 5 o'clock with the border denticulation at lower right beyond the flan. There are no troublesome planchet flaws - a rarity in a Landscape Vermont irrespective of die pairing. Color is an even and richly original deep walnut-brown, the texture smooth and hard. With no detracting marks, as well, one would be hard pressed to do much better than this in a certified AU for either the type or variety. The RR-7 is in the middle for rarity among the VERMONTENSIUM varieties, not as challenging to collect as RR-8, but appreciably scarcer than RR-6. This is the first Vermont copper variety struck in coin alignment. Provenance: From the Emerald Coast Collection. Earlier from Henry Chapman's Sale of The Allison Jackman Collection, June 1918, lot 78; Heritage's CSNS Signature Auction of April-May 2009, lot 964.
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1787 New Jersey Copper. Maris 62-q, W-5350. Rarity-3. Sprig Above Plow, Hidden WM. Large Planchet. AU-58+ (PCGS). 152.7 grains. SHI DS2. An absolutely exquisite New Jersey copper, Condition Census for the variety and a nearly unimprovable type coin. Frosty light brown with lively olive around design elements where mint color was last to fade. Well struck on a nice, broad planchet, ideally centered on the reverse and only trivially aligned to 9 o'clock on the obverse. Denticles frame both sides completely, and the centers are near-fully struck as well. Some planchet texture persists at central obverse, as usual for this variety, and the absolute center of the shield is a trifle soft but still fully defined. A little strikethrough extends into the field from the left side of the shield, but no significant marks are noted. Die State 2, with a crack from the plow bar to the denticles below extending into a rectangle on its way. This coin is ranked as sixth finest known on the SHI Census, one of five AU coins that trail the Gem Unc Bushnell-Garrett coin and a Gem Unc in the Anton Collection. The third-ranked Taylor coin reappeared in the March 2021 Partrick sale as NGC MS-61; that coin is more lustrous but less sharp at centers. While fairly common in grades through EF, this variety remains scarce at this kind of state of preservation - and continues to have significant demand from type collectors. The presence of the partial initials WM for Walter Mould under the horsehead, seen quite clearly here, only increases interest in high grade examples of this variety. Provenance: From our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, May 1996, lot 79; William O'Donnell Collection; our (Stack's) Americana sale, January 2001, lot 160; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006; Sydney F. Martin; our sale of the Sydney F. Martin Collection, Summer 2022 Global Showcase Auction, August, lot 8124.
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1790 Standish Barry Threepence. W-8510. Rarity-6-. EF Details--Holed (NGC). Medallic alignment. A respectable and eminently collectible example of this rare and significant early Federal era silver issue. Both sides retain plenty of bold definition, as the EF Details grade from NGC suggests. All design elements on the obverse are clear apart from the back of the figure's head, which is flat and devoid of hair definition, and the letter M in BALTIMORE, half of which has been obliterated by the plug (or more accurately, the hole that preceded it). The reverse is similar with bold detail to most motifs, although the letter H in THREE is opposite the figure's head and therefore likewise indistinct, and the plug largely obscures the first letter S in STANDISH. There is a touch of glossiness to the texture from a long-ago cleaning, but the surfaces have retoned naturally and attractively to sport olive-gray patina that is a bit bolder on the reverse. A short cut at and behind the figure's nose and a couple of tiny scrapes around the letters TH in THREE on the reverse are noted, but the plug is really the only blemish that assails the unaided eye. There is a lot of "coin" here relative to the assigned grade, and many colonial and early American type collectors would be honored to feature this piece as their Standish Barry threepence. In their recent (2025) article "Standish Barry and His Baltimore Town Threepence" published in JEAN 8:2, John L. Howes and Roger S. Siboni provide a census of 28 distinct and confirmed examples of Standish Barry's threepence. Several of these are impounded, including the ANS specimen and the National Numismatic Collection coin at the Smithsonian Institution. The authors report only six Mint State examples, including the Siboni, Archangel, William Anton, Jackman, and Brand-Ford coins. The sixth was stolen from the Massachusetts Historical Society sometime before 1974 and has not been numismatically confirmed since. Our most recent offering was for one of the nice coins in the EF-AU range, a PCGS AU-50 that realized $33,600 as lot 4397 in our November 2025 Showcase Auction. That coin is included in the Howes-Siboni census, although its provenance prior to our offering is unknown. The present example, however, is not included in the Howes-Siboni census and brings the total of confirmed Standish Barry threepence to 29. This silver token threepence is an anomaly in the early American coin series. It's struck in silver, which makes it an oddity after the 17th century. It bears the most precise date in the entire American series (July 4, 1790), and perhaps most important, was struck after the U.S. Constitution gave exclusive rights to coinage to the Federal government. In his groundbreaking March 2010 article in The Colonial Newsletter, Max Spiegel posited that the July 4, 1790 date was intended to align with Thomas Jefferson's "Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measures of the United States," which shared that exact same printed publication date. Spiegel also concludes that the portrait on the Standish Barry threepence is that of James Calhoun, the first major of the city of Baltimore, which assessment is based on an 1843 news item in the Baltimore Sun. Howes and Siboni challenge this theory, noting among other things that Calhoun did not become mayor of Baltimore until 1797. Instead, they conclude that the portrait is that of none other than George Washington, who stopped in Baltimore for two days beginning September 8, 1790, while travelling from Philadelphia to his home at Mount Vernon. The president was accompanied by his wife, Martha, and their entourage. Several contemporary portraits of Washington referenced by Howes and Siboni provide further evidence for the authors' theory that it is the president's likeness on Standish Barry's threepence. Much remains unresolved here, however, including the use of the July 4 date which, if actually the date of striking for some or all of the tokens, preceded Washington's visit by two months. Perhaps the significance of the date July 4 was enough for Barry to place it on his tokens alongside Washington's portrait even through they were struck after the president's visit. Whether or not they also commemorate Washington's visit, Barry's token threepence certainly served two purposes: as "...a community service to standardize irregular and confusing Spanish cut coinage similar to what John Chalmers did in early Annapolis seven years earlier" (as related by Howes and Siboni), and to advertise Barry's silversmith business. Survivors from an estimated mintage of 1,000 pieces for the Standish Barry threepence remain rare and rarely encountered today. Many are damaged, most are worn, and the vast majority are incompletely struck - all of which characteristics can be applied to the present example to a greater or lesser extent. Yet even so, the rarity of this type and the additional challenges that it poses for collectors mean that any Standish Barry threepence offered through auction that retains enough definition to support an EF Details grade is worthy of serious bidder consideration.
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