Owner Comments:
Pictured above is a 1787 Laughing Head Connecticut copper graded AU 50 BN by NGC. As early as 1859, Montroville Dickeson referred to this coin as a "Laughing Effigy Piece". There are two different Laughing Head varieties, which have been assigned the Miller designations 6.1M and 6.2M, respectively. Both dies, despite generating contemporary counterfeits, display a high degree of craftsmanship.
The 6.1M mailed bust left coin is a thin light-weight copper. Its distinctive bust is characterized by a large pointed nose, parted lips, a pursed mouth, and hair consisting of a series of continuous small lines. The laughing demeanor is less dramatic than on the 6.2M specimens. Several diagnostics differentiate the two varieties. For instance, the letter "I" in the word Auctori of the 6.1M obverse is located above the hair curl in front of the laurel leaves. On the 6.2M obverse, this "I" is found above the bust's forehead.
The 6.2M variety has alternatively been called the Smiling Head, the Outlined Head, and the Simple Head (Crosby reference), and features two distinctive die breaks, as well as planchet voids at the nose and behind the bust.
The 6.1M variety is far more plentiful than the 6.2M. Several high end examples exist. Both varieties feature a six pointed star in the front center of the mailed armor.
In 1787, Walter Mould was running a mint located in Morristown, New Jersey that produced legally authorized New Jersey coppers. Noting the popular market acceptance of the Connecticut emissions, he could not resist the temptation of jumping on the highly profitable counterfeit bandwagon. Among the 1787 Connecticut counterfeits that have been traced to Mould's illegal operations are: the Mailed Bust Right Miller 1.3-L variety; the Horned Bust 4-L; and the two Laughing Head varieties. The attribution to Mould is confirmed by his use in all four Connecticut counterfeit varieties of the aforementioned star embedded in the mailed armor, which served as his distinguishing mint mark. Additionally, the N, C, and A punches incorporated into his Connecticut counterfeits were identical to those used to produce his legal New Jersey coinage. By June 1788, Mould had sold his minting equipment to Machin Mills, and fled to Ohio to avoid debtor's prison.