1787 Massachusetts Half Cent, Ryder 3-A, W-5920, R.5, MS64 Brown PCGS. CAC....

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1787 Massachusetts Half Cent, MS64 Brown
Tied for the Finest Known Ryder 3-A

1787 Massachusetts Half Cent, Ryder 3-A, W-5920, R.5, MS64 Brown PCGS. CAC. Equivalents. Crosby 3-A; Ryder 3-A; Whitman-5920. Rarity. McGuigan: High R.5 (31-45 known). Packard: R.4 (119-158 known). Hodder (Ford): Low R.5 (61 to 75 known). Whitman: URS-7 (33-64 known).
Auction Survey. Our survey of 1787 Massachusetts half cents includes 45 examples of Ryder 3-A from a total of 790 auction appearances since 1960.
Obverse 3. The short fletchings are far below the space between W and E, and that position is diagnostic. A small arrowhead is distant from the Indian's tunic. The Indian's abdomen was not engraved under his right elbow. The northeast ray of the upright star points to the top of the Indian's head. The upper part of the bow is close to the N. Obverse 3 is unique to this die marriage.

Reverse A. The U is recut showing an extra set of serifs, diagnostic for Reverse A. Each S is open with the serifs separated from the curves. The date is separated with the first 7 and the 8 widely spaced. All of the letters are separated and well-spaced. The center arrow joins the eagle's wing tip and the upper leaf joins the other wing. The lowest arrow points to the lower-right curve of the S. The left end of the doubled exergue line is over the serif of the 1. The two outer leaves are positioned below the left and right base of the M. That letter is entirely below the wing tip, diagnostic. Reverse A appears with obverse dies 2, 3, 5, and 6.
Surfaces. This Choice Mint State piece has lovely light brown surfaces and full cartwheel luster. Delicate blue and mahogany overtones are observed, with faded red mint color. The Indian's waist band and tunic lack detail, and the shield over the eagle's breast is partially detailed with HALF CENT fully readable and partial horizontal and vertical shield lines evident.
Die State. Light obverse die cracks extend from the top of the N in COMMON to the border, and through the tops of WEAL. An intermittent die crack extends from the branch stem to the border left of the date, with light spalling left of the first T in MASSACHUSETTS. The reverse is a slightly earlier state than seen on the Ryder 2-A offered here.
Condition Census. This example and the MS64 Brown NGC coin that we sold in January 2015 as part of the Donald G. Partrick Collection are the two finest Ryder 3-A half cents known to us. An example in the ANS collection is similar, and behind that are the MS62 Brown PCGS Twin Leaf coin sold in 2019 and a cleaned Mint State example from the Ted Craige Collection sold in 2013. Perhaps a half dozen AU grade coins survive.

Appearances. Illustrated at PCGS.com.
PCGS Population (9/21). PCGS has certified 24 1787 Massachusetts half cents of all varieties as MS64 Brown, three as MS64+ Brown, one as MS64+ Red and Brown, and 12 finer.
Commentary. The McGuigan Collection of Massachusetts half cents is the finest ever offered at public auction, based on our review of catalogs dating back to 1960. Our analysis follows the PCGS Set Registry method, where individual varieties are weighted based on rarity. The only complete collection offered at auction was that of Robert Schonwalter sold in 2003, although the condition of his coins was generally lower than several other collections. We found collections that included 10 of the 11 known varieties.

Following the McGuigan Collection that has a weighted grade point average of 49.7 are the Partrick Collection (44.6), the Twin Leaf Collection (43.0), the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection (41.3), the ANS Collection (41.3), the offering in the 2008 C4 auction (37.8), the Schonwalter Collection (36.7), the Weber Collection (33.2), the Norweb Collection (32.6), and the Taylor Collection (21.1).
McGuigan Commentary. Choice glossy light and medium brown surfaces. Possibly the finest known example of this rare variety.
Provenance. Ex: Steve Gorman (Universal Coin Galleries, 9/23/2005).
Personality. One of the best-known numismatic authorities of the 19th century, Sylvester S. Crosby was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, on September 2, 1831, and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 18, 1914. Crosby was the youngest of 11 children of the Reverend Avazaniah Crosby, pastor of the Charlestown Congregational Church. A watchmaker by trade, Crosby had an interest in numismatics, mushrooms, archaeology, and astronomy. He collaborated with J.N.T. Levick in an article on 1793 cent varieties (which included the famous Levick Plate), authored a later reference on 1793 cent varieties in 1897 that became the standard for many years, and is best known for his Colonial reference Early Coins of America.
From The James R. McGuigan Half Cent Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (Variety PCGS# 688341, Base PCGS# 296)

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