Owner Comments:
Pictured above is a 1786 Connecticut Half Pence Copper featuring a Mailed Bust facing Right, and the reverse legend: ETLIB INDE. It has been graded EF 45 by PCGS. (The scan is lighter than the actual coin, to enhance appreciation of its details.) The piece has been variously categorized as Miller 2.1-A, Breen 743, and W-2465, and was once part of the prestigious collection of Sydney F. Martin.
This variety exhibits two distinctive characteristics: 1) The obverse bust, with a uniquely circular-shaped face and hair, acquired the quaint nickname "Round Head" as early as 1859, in Dr. Montroville Dickeson's American Numismatical Manual. The narrow-shouldered likeness is topped by 8 major wreath leaves. Both the obverse and reverse display typically indistinct central details. This 2.1 obverse die was rarely paired with a different D.3 reverse.
2) Most Connecticut Coppers show the reverse legend with INDE (standing for Independent) on the left side, and ETLIB (And Free) on the right side. The Round Head 2.1-A and 1-A varieties however, are the only two die marriages that feature a transposition of these reverse legends.
In his comprehensive work, The Identification And Classification Of Connecticut Coppers (1785 - 1788), author Randall P. Clark speculates that the Round Head variety dies, and coins struck from them, may not have been of official New Haven design or construction. Stylistically, the coin is similar to some counterfeit half pence, with a legend partially punch linked to small date New Jersey and Machin's Mills Coppers. The date sports a very scrawny "1". Officially authorized Connecticut Coppers should weigh 144 grains, however the piece pictured above, weighs a scant 91.8 grains, substantially underweight.
Although the Round Head variety is said to be relatively common, but always in demand, only a small number have been submitted to the grading services. A total of 7 coins of this variety have been slabbed by PCGS, with 2 at the highest assigned grade of AU 55. NGC has graded 9 coins, with the highest attaining AU 58.