COUNTERMARKED 1786 "BABY HEAD" VERMONT COPPER

One of the most significant offerings in our October 2018 Baltimore Auction is a 1786 Ryder-9 Vermont copper countermarked in a manner most familiar to collectors of Regulatedgold. This piece is a delightful representative of the popular Baby Head variety, offering glossy surfaces and bold definition to each side. The reverse is rotated 90 degreesclockwise, orienting AUCTORI opposite the date and leaving both soft. Darker coffee and russet patina inhabits the fields, while the devices show lighter honey-brown coloration.Slightly drawn towards 5 o'clock on the reverse, which just trims the tops of LIB at the edge. The planchet shows a narrow and natural flaw that spans from the rim near I ofLIB to the I of INDE.

Most significant is an elliptical countermark in the right reverse field enclosing the characters JB written in cursive. What appears to be a small "o" separates thetwo larger letters. This mark is likely the work of English silversmith John Bailey, who was working throughout New York state from the 1750s up until his death in 1815. This markis inverted relative to the reverse motif, and is precariously placed between the hip of the seated figure and the colon separating ET LIB. The oval cartouche is tight to theletters within, and the punch is deeply impressed at the right but more shallow at the left. Considerable patina fills the crevices of the mark, though the identification as theletters JB is unmistakable. Though we have not found a completely identical match to the present mark, we are led to the attribution of Bailey through both contextual evidence andstylistic similarities to his signature on his swords and similar oval punches found on cutlery from the Fishkill area.

While the current JB countermark has not been previously tied to numismatics, John Bailey himself is certainly a familiar figure within the context of early U.S. coinage. Uponhis return to New York City in 1784 after the war, Bailey formed a coalition with goldsmith Ephraim Brasher to petition the New York State legislature to secure a coinagecontract. In demonstration of their capabilities, they issued several "pattern" coppers including the 1787 Excelsior copper and 1787 Nova Eborac copper which are popularamong colonial collectors today.

Bailey is also considered responsible for the Running Fox varieties of the New Jersey copper, which share punches with the Excelsior coppers, Nova Eborac coppers, and even thefamous 1787 New York Brasher doubloons. With a modern weight of under 98 grains it was considerably lighter than most recognized issues of the era, though the mark of a respectedsilversmith was likely enough to assuage suspicion. This specimen is a potentially crucial piece in the fascinating and complex puzzle of the early American economy and it is sureto draw considerable interest from collectors of many specialties.

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Rare Countermarked 1786 "Baby Head" Vermont Copper to be Offered in our October 2018 BaltimoreAuction (http://www.stacksbowers.com/News/Pages/Blogs.aspx?ArticleID=312)