(1785) COPPER Bar Copper MS63 Brown PCGS. Breen-1145, W-8520....

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Famous (1785) Bar Copper
W-8520, MS63 Brown

(1785) COPPER Bar Copper MS63 Brown PCGS. Breen-1145, W-8520. The famous Bar copper, better known as the Bar cent to an older generation of collectors. The nomenclature changed from cent to copper with the 1987 Guide Book. The designs of the Bar copper resemble no other early American issue. We know approximately when this anonymous issue first circulated, due to a much-quoted article in the November 12, 1785 New Jersey Gazette, which states that "a new and curious kind of coppers have lately made their appearance in New York. ... These coppers are in fact similar to Continental buttons without eyes; on the one side are thirteen stripes and on the other U.S.A. as was usual on the soldiers buttons."
The present piece has all of the diagnostics of authentic pieces, such as the spur from the end of the second bar, and a slender die crack at the center between bars. Best of all, there is no sign of wear, and the golden-brown to medium brown surfaces are nearly devoid of marks. Listed on page 70 of the 2011 Guide Book. Population: 3 in 63 Brown, 5 finer (11/10).

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 2B5J, PCGS# 599, Greysheet# 351)

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