CoinTalk member says puzzling coin is a 1788 Connecticut copper counterfeit from Machin's Mill

This article summarizes posts in a CoinTalk forum thread titled "Calling all colonial copper specialists." The source material does not show when the posts were made, so no date is given here. The points below are what forum members reported or argued; GNJ has not examined the coin.

A puzzling copper

Member No_Ragrets wrote of sometimes buying semi-problematic coins to try to figure out what happened to them. The member said this one appeared to be a Connecticut copper, but it had a "NO" (or perhaps "NOV") before "AUCTORI" on the obverse, and the "ET" in INDE ET LIB looked out of place on the reverse. No_Ragrets asked whether it might be a contemporary counterfeit.

"A 1788 12.2-C Connecticut copper"

The first replies came from RockyB, who wrote that it did not look American, asked if it was Canadian and suggested the CoinSnap app.

Member l.cutler, who said they collect these coins by die variety, identified it as a 1788 12.2-C Connecticut copper. According to l.cutler, it is overstruck on a Nova Constellatio, as many of this variety are. l.cutler described it as a rarity 5 variety, which translates to 46 to 60 estimated surviving. l.cutler wrote that it actually is a contemporary counterfeit, and that all of the 1788 dated Connecticuts were minted at Machin's Mill, not at the official Connecticut mint. Another member, ksparrow, said the "NO" on the obverse made sense after reading the attribution.

l.cutler also warned that CoinSnap "can be terribly inaccurate at times."

Views on the coin's condition

SensibleSal66 suggested fire damage, saying they have an 1818 large cent that looks similar. No_Ragrets replied that they were leaning toward it being a dug coin. Under the scope, the member said, it had tiny pitting all over, and swipe marks from someone pushing mud and dirt off after pulling it from the ground.

Views on counterfeits and value

When RockyB asked what it would be worth as a counterfeit, The Half Dime wrote that some counterfeits can be worth a lot of money, but that this one was likely not a high-end counterfeit. The Half Dime said some contemporary pieces, such as non-regal King George III half pennies circulating in the 1770s and likely the 1780s, can sell for what a genuine one does.

The Connecticut series

l.cutler described the Connecticut coinage as a complex but interesting series that also ties in with the Fugio cents. l.cutler wrote that the history of the coins and the coiners involved corporate intrigue, bribing government officials, cheating the government and finally failure, with some participants on the run to avoid prosecution.

According to l.cutler, there are around 350 different varieties spanning 1785-1788. The 1788 coins and some others were unofficially made at Thomas Machin's mint, and these are included in the variety count and collected as part of the series. l.cutler called it a series that could never be completed but that "sure is fun."

Source: CoinTalk, "Calling all colonial copper specialists" (forum thread).