1787 NJ 1/2P Pattern Shield Half Penny

Coin Details

Description

Distinguished by horizontal lines — heraldic hatching — within the shield on the reverse, this 1787 New Jersey copper features a "pattern" or "lined" shield design that stands apart from the plain shield varieties where the shield face is left unornamented. Cataloged as Maris 45-e and Whitman 4865, this scarce variety belongs to the Post-1776 States Coinage (1776-1788) series. In heraldic convention, horizontal lines (or hatching) within a shield represent the tincture azure (blue), suggesting this die sinker was applying proper heraldic rules to the New Jersey state arms — a level of sophistication not consistently maintained across the many independently produced dies in the series. The pattern shield represents a different die sinker's approach to the reverse design, one that incorporated formal heraldic knowledge into what was otherwise a relatively crude private coinage operation. The obverse features the standard New Jersey plow with the state motto "NOVA CAESAREA" and the date. New Jersey coppers were produced under contract at the Rahway, New Jersey, facility and possibly at other locations, with the remarkable variety of shield treatments — plain, narrow, broad, and pattern — documenting the multiple hands involved in die preparation. The Maris 45-e designation identifies this specific obverse-reverse die marriage, and collectors of New Jersey coppers organized by Maris numbers pursue this variety as a distinct catalog entry.

Rarity Notes

Scarce.

Cross References

Maris 45-e; Whitman 4865