Owner Comments:
Pictured above, is a 1786 New Jersey copper of the "Bridle" wide shield variety. It has been graded AU 53 by NGC, and categorized as Maris 18-M, and W-4890. The piece was formerly in the collection of Peter Jones, M.D. The coin derives its nickname from the prominent vertical die crack extending down beneath the obverse horse's snout.
As of the time Edward Maris wrote his 1881 scholarly treatise entitled "A Historic Sketch of the Coins of New Jersey With a Plate", which serves as a foundation for the alphanumeric designations still used today, he had seen only 3 specimens. Today, many more examples have emerged, with PCGS having slabbed 13, none in mint state condition. NGC has graded a total of 29, the highest being an impressive MS 66 RB copper, once belonging to Norweb and Donald G. Partrick, that sold at auction on 1/21/21 for the lofty sum of $156,000.
The #18 obverse die can be found in combination with 4 different reverse dies (J, L, M, and N), but the 18-M is the only one available in grades approaching mint state. The date shown on 18-Ms is crude, and poorly placed, even on better specimens. The 6 in the date was originally punched much higher than it should have been. On high grade examples, a protruding "nub" appears within the plowshare, representing the top vestige of this errantly placed 6. However, most of that 6 has been obliterated by corrective reengraving of the plowshare body.
HISTORY - On 6/1/1786, the New Jersey legislature granted coining privileges to a group of three enterprising individuals: Walter Mould, Albion Cox, and Thomas Goadsby (with the unofficial involvement of Matthias Ogden). They were to produce 3 million copper coins, each composed of 150 grains of pure copper, over a period of two years. The relationship between some of these venturers was contentious from the outset, resulting in litigation, and the evolution of multiple mint sites: in Rahway, Morristown, and Elizabethtown; with connections to out-of-state sites such as New York City (John Bailey) and Machin Mills.
Elements of the coppers' design were taken from the State's seal, attributed to Pierre du Simitiere. Although as many as 144 varieties exist, many very unique, most exhibit common obverse and reverse motifs: The obverse displays a truncated horse's head, in varying styles, usually facing right, with a plow below, and the peripheral inscription "Nova Caesarea", the Latinized name for New Jersey.
The common reverse features a shield in its center, (based on the Great Seal of the US), with the peripheral legend - "E Pluribus Unum", translating into "From Many One" - the first use on a coin of what would ultimately become our national motto.
Many New Jersey coppers were struck over Connecticut coppers, Irish halfpence, counterfeit English halfpence, and others that could be obtained more cheaply than creating planchets from scratch.