1737 Higley Copper Threepence - Three Hammers, CONNECTICVT

Coin Details

Auction Record

$470,000 • AU50 NGC • 05-2014 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Produced from copper mined at the Higley family's privately owned mine near Granby, Connecticut, this 1737 threepence represents one of the most storied issues in all of American numismatics. Dr. Samuel Higley, a Yale-educated physician and metallurgist, began striking these copper pieces around 1737, making them among the first coins produced from native American copper ore. The Three Hammers reverse — depicting three blacksmith's hammers in a triangular arrangement — paired with the CONNECTICVT legend (using the Latin V for U) identifies this specific die combination. Cataloged as W-8190, Freidus 1.1-A, Breen 238, and Crosby VIII-17, this variety has achieved legendary auction results: a single example graded AU50 by NGC realized $470,000 at Heritage Auctions in May 2014, establishing it as the finest known specimen across all Higley varieties. Struck in copper from the Granby mine, the coin weighs approximately 9.41 grams with a 28 mm diameter and plain edge. With a rarity rating of R.8 and approximately 6 known examples, each surviving specimen is individually significant. The Higley coppers are sometimes called "Granby coppers" after their place of origin, and local legend holds that tavern keepers initially accepted them as threepence until complaints led Higley to change his legend from THE VALUE OF THREE PENCE to the defiant I AM GOOD COPPER and VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE on subsequent die combinations — making the CONNECTICVT legend varieties among the earliest in the production sequence.

Rarity Notes

R.8. Extremely rare; approximately 6 known. The AU50 NGC example is the finest of all known Higley varieties.

Cross References

W-8190, Freidus 1.1-A, Breen 238, Crosby VIII-17