Horses And Torses: Collecting New Jersey Coppers As Illustrated By The E Pluribus Unum Collection

PCGS - The Stack's-Bowers Galleries sale of the E Pluribus Unum Collection of New Jersey copper coins in Baltimore in November 2019 offered collectors the rare opportunity to examine a cabinet carefully assembled and improved upon for years by a dedicated specialist of the series. As on any such occasion, new price records were set, famous pieces had their pedigrees lengthened, and interest in the series as a whole was heightened. The selection of highlights from the sale given here has been chosen to illustrate the series' expansive stylistic range.

What is a New Jersey Copper?
The Confederation-era New Jersey copper series begins in late 1786, when the state sought to address the severe shortage of small change in circulation. Not having the resources to undertake production of coinage itself, the legislature accepted the proposal of a private firm to complete the task. The subsequent history of the enterprise is in itself a fascinating episode, with many dramatic components: a business partnership nearly immediately dissolved, directors in and out of colonial debtor's prison, and a courtroom battle between young barristers Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr 20 years before their infamous morning duel at Weehawken in 1804. Roughly four million pieces would be struck in the subsequent few years, many illicitly (or at least in blatant violation of the original contract), until an economic recession in 1789 significantly reduced their intrinsic value and led to their ultimate demonetization in 1790, just two years before the United States Mint opened its doors.



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