Offered
in lot 31330 of our March 2016 Baltimore Auction is an appealing Choice VF 1783
Nova Constellation copper that will nicely represent this type in an impressive
assemblage of early American issues.Handsomely preserved and expertly centered,
deep cappuccino patina supports rich chestnut atop the most prominent regions.
The surfaces are very attractive. There is mild, characteristic softness at the
central reverse, but the devices remain uniformly rendered and razor sharp. The
eye appeal and technical merit of this example is superlative for the assigned
grade level.
In
1783, Gouverneur Morris, Assistant Superintendent of Finance with the
Continental Congress, proposed a 1000-unit, decimal-based coinage system to
replace the potpourri of foreign coins fueling the early American economy. A
five-coin set of denominated patterns ranging from a 5-unit copper piece
through a 1000-unit silver piece, or 1 mark, was struck to illustrate this
concept. Exhibiting the familiar obverse of an interstellar, all-seeing eye
paired with a wreathed and monogramed US on the reverse; these 1783 Nova
Constellatio patterns were to be struck at the proposed North American Mint. Though neither the North American Mint nor the
1000-unit system was implemented, the motifs saw new life in Morris’ next
venture.
Sometime
after the failed coinage proposal, Gouvernor Morris partnered with Robert
Morris and William Constable in New York City, and John Rucker in London, to
form the commercial house Constable, Rucker & Co. In a private effort, the
company ordered a striking of promotional copper pieces bearing a motif
inspired by the 1783 Nova Constellatio patterns. Though these promotional
pieces bear the dates 1783, 1785 and 1786, researcher Eric P. Newman suggests
that the 1783-dated pieces may not have been struck until 1785, as there are no
known contemporary accounts of their existence before then.
The
design saw many alterations throughout production, with major variations in the
style of the rays and the spelling of CONSTELLATIO on the obverse, and the
style of the wreath and US on the reverse. The pieces were popular in commerce
and saw heavy circulation, ironically contributing to the patchwork of coins
fueling the economy that Morris had initially intended to mitigate. Eventually,
however, the Nova Constellatio coppers were devalued and removed from
circulation, with many serving as the undertype of a Connecticut, New Jersey,
or Vermont copper.
This
piece will be offered in Session 10 of the Internet-Only portion of our
Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Spring Expo in
Baltimore. The entire auction is available online at StacksBowers.com. To
consign to one of our upcoming auctions, please contact our offices today at
1-800-458-4646 to speak with a Consignment Director and see what Stack’s Bowers
Galleries can do for you.
