ACQUIRING A 1788 R 4-G MASSACHUSETTS CENT

From childhood, I learned about my family roots in colonial New England. Our Brewster genealogical records, on my mother's side of the family, trace our family ancestry back to the Mayflower, with many generations residing in Massachusetts. We are the direct descendants (14th generation!) of Elder William Brewster, a passenger on the Mayflower (for more information on him, see the entry on Brewster-William, mayflowerhistory.com).

Coincidentally, Beth, my wife, and I had the chance to explore Massachusetts a bit when I was a visiting professor at College of the Holy Cross in 2007 to 2008. I recall finding and checking out many numismatic books at the Worcester Public Library and attending local coin shows. I drove into Boston to attend the Bay State Show at the Radisson Hotel in 2008. It was my first time attending such a major coin show!

 

I thought about my dad when I began studying Massachusetts colonial half cents and cents with an American Indian depicted on the obverse. Julius, my late father, was fascinated by Native American history, artwork and spirituality. He would have been intrigued by the design of these coins. Q. David Bowers notes that the Massachusetts cents and half cents represented the first time CENT appeared on a coin made in the United States. He also explains that Among all copper coins issued by the different states during the 1780s, the Massachusetts pieces were the best struck and of the most uniform weight. (Bowers, Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and American Coins, p. 197). Craig Sholley and John Dannreuther add, Massachusetts coppers …are the first coins struck at a government-owned and operated mint, the first with denominations as part of the design, the first with legends in English, the first with an American Indian motif, and the first with a federal-style heraldic eagle with shield, arrows, and olive branch on the reverse[.] (Sholley and Dannreuther, The First U.S. Coins were…the State Coppers, in Penny-Wise, vol. LVII, no. 3, July 2023, p. 107).

Michael Brooks, a member of the New Jersey Numismatic Society, brought a beautiful 1787 MA Half Cent Ryder 4-C NGC EF 40 for show-and-tell at our NJNS meeting in January 2023. Mike had just purchased this coin at the FUN Show. I studied it with my magnifying glass and considered the possibility of buying a specimen for myself.

To further educate myself, before I started looking into specimens for sale, I conducted research on the Newman Numismatic Portal, examined Stack's Bowers and Heritage online auction records, and studied PCGS CoinFacts. I also reread sections pertaining to Massachusetts coppers in the Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins, by Q. David Bowers.

Next, I examined numerous Massachusetts coppers on various dealer websites, ranging in grade from About Good to Mint State. Then, I discovered a 1788 R 4-G MA Colonial Cent PCGS XF 40 listed on Chris McCawley's Early Cents website (earlycents.com). After exchanging texts and having phone conversations with Lucas Baldridge at Early Cents, we worked out a deal. I am so thrilled to own this coin! Lucas was gracious, friendly and a pleasure to work with.

My coin is described as being choice glossy medium chocolate brown with areas of lighter brown toning on both sides. The planchet quality is extraordinary. It is a remarkable example of a variety that was missing from the Partrick Collection. I felt drawn to the provenance, summarized on the Early Cents website as Ex; Thomas L. Elder 10/17/1908:46 – Hillyer Ryder- F.C.C. Boyd – John J. Ford, Jr., Stacks's 10/2004:125 – Jack Wadlington (The Twin Leaf Collection), Stack's Bowers 3/1/2019:8033 – George Trostel Collection.

I was thrilled when my Massachusetts colonial coin arrived in mid-December. What a magnificent specimen! My coin came with a small card containing the following information: Featuring Selections from the Neil Rothschild Collection and the George Trostel Collection, Lot 106, Early Cents Auctions, August 29, 2021.

I am now checking old auction records to learn more about the provenance of my piece. Ray Williams told me that Mike Packard is working on a book about Massachusetts colonial coppers. I can't wait to read it!

Note: Lucas Baldridge of Early Cents kindly gave me permission to use the obverse and reverse images of my coin from the Early Cents website to accompany this article.

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