| Description: |
10.3 grains. 16.6 mm. An exceptional specimen of this important type. Dark gray toning,
near black and glossy, lightens just a bit near centers where silvery lustre was last to
fade. A original and barely-worn specimen, showing excellent sharpness on an oversize
planchet. On the obverse, the legends are complete and every bead is visible except for a
few over M of MASATHVSETS. The tops of AT are just a trifle weak, not significant but
noticeable since the rest of the obverse is so remarkably well-detailed. A large unstruck
area may be seen outside the beaded periphery from 10:00 to 5:00. On the reverse, the
centering is excellent, with just a couple of beads above GL of ENGLAND lacking from the
otherwise complete periphery. AN of ENGLAND, opposite the weak point noted on the reverse,
is just a bit soft, and a large unstruck area frames the outside from 3:00 to beyond 6:00.
A couple of trivial old pinscratches at central reverse are noticeable only with
magnification and patience. This piece is better detailed than Ford:64 and without that
specimen's marks; it sold for $10,925. It is also better centered than Ford's primary
piece, graded Uncirculated at $34,500. This example should rank high among those specimens
known of this rare variety; it would be hard to find a more choice example in any
grade.From the George Polis Collection.
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