Owner Comments:
Pictured above is a 1785 "Vermonts" landscape design copper graded VF-30 BN by NGC. It has been variously classified as Ryder-Richardson (RR) 3, Bressett 2-B, and W-2010. Q. David Bowers has deemed this variety the scarcest of the 1785 landscape emissions - it being a rarity URS-7, with an estimated 33-64 examples extant.
Of the states issuing copper coins during the Confederation Period, the Republic of Vermont was the earliest to do so. (Vermont was not actually admitted to the Union as the 14th state until 3/4/1791, because of border disputes with New York and New Hampshire.)
The dies for the landscape coppers, dated 1785 or 1786, were fashioned by William H. Coley. Coins were usually underweight relative to the authorized standard, and were plagued by striations, planchet defects and/or striking problems. These are evident in the upper right obverse, and upper left reverse of the pictured coin. Little or no detail is seen in those areas, while the unaffected areas exhibit bold details exceeding those expected for the assigned grade.
The obverse features a sun rising over the Green Mountains, forested with pine trees, and with a plow in the foreground above the 1785 date. The peripheral legend reads: Vermonts. Res Publica.
The reverse displays the central all seeing eye of Providence. 13 alternating short and long rays emanate from the circle surrounding the eye, with each short ray punctuated with a 6 sided star. This reverse design was loosely based on the 1783 Blunt Rays Nova Constellatio copper, then in circulation. The peripheral motto "Stella Quarta Decima" translates into "14th star", referencing Vermont's desire to become the 14th state in the American Confederation.
The landscape Vermont coppers utilized one of 3 different Latinized versions of Vermont: 1) The "Vermonts" pieces, RR-2 and RR-3, constituted the earliest Vermont mint products; 2) The rare RR-4 variety sported the word "Vermontis"; and 3) In 1786, RR-6, RR-7, and RR-8 were created. They contained the Latinized "Vermontensium", with pointed rays on the reverse. The RR-5 variety is considered a contemporary counterfeit.