1737 Higley Copper Threepence - Three Hammers, VALVE OF THREE PENCE

Strike Type

Coin Details

Year

1737

Denomination

Colonials

Strike Type

Regular Strike

Series

Pre-1776 Private and Regional Issues (1616-1766)

Designer

Samuel Higley / John Higley

Composition

Copper (Granby, CT mine)

Edge

Plain

Auction Record

Price realized: $100,050
Sold: May 2014
Grade: VF25 NGC
Auction house: Heritage Auctions

Description

This 1737 Higley threepence has the first obverse legend of the series, THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE, with three crowned hammers on the reverse. Samuel Higley mined copper near Granby, Connecticut, and with his brother John made the dies and struck these coppers from 1737; Samuel was lost at sea in 1737 and John carried on. Every obverse shows a deer: the first legend, THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE, gave way to VALVE ME AS YOU PLEASE and VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE, and one die shows a wheel with THE WHEELE GOES ROUND. The reverses show three crowned hammers with CONNECTICVT or I AM GOOD COPPER, or a broad axe with J CUT MY WAY THROUGH. Daniel Freidus recorded 8 obverse and 5 reverse dies in 15 marriages. Freidus records the THE VALVE OF THREE PENCE obverses with the CONNECTICVT reverse (1.1-A, 1.2-A, 1.3-A) and one of them with I AM GOOD COPPER (1.2-B.a, Crosby 19), and the title of this page does not say which reverse it is for. Cataloged as PCGS #204.