• Forum server maintanace Friday night.(around 7PM Centeral time)
    Website will be off line for a short while.

    You may need to log out, log back in after we're back online.

1787 New Jersey Colonial Copper

Leave-No-Coins-Behind

Forum Supporter
Joined
Dec 23, 2016
Messages
8,595
Location
Keystone State
Today, I went to a newer school that was built on old wooded land. Finds were scarce so I started detecting on graded hillside adjacent to the school property. I was basically digging high conductors or deep lower conductors.

I got this 22/23 type signal thinking it might be a zinc but the footprint was a bit larger for that, so I started to did it up. About 7-8" down I saw this brown greenish coin, I was thinking it was a large cent.

When I got home I started the cleaning process. The coin is heavily corroded so I began doing an electrolysis. In short, it appears to being identify as from the shield on the reverse side as a 1787 New Jersey Colonial.

The area this coin was found would be prime for time period I was detecting. I am planning on attempting to clean it some more on another day.

I have attached a facsimile of what it should look like and a brief description about it.

It was a nice surprise in finding this early copper today!

New Jersey Coppers History: The New Jersey coppers, struck in 1786, 1787 and 1788 are among the most well known of all early American coins, and circulated widely for a long period of time. Struck at various locations in the state of New Jersey these copper coins were well accepted throughout the North-East. They were minted by businessmen Walter Mould, Albion Cox and Thomas Goadsby, who had been authorized to strike copper coinage on June 1, 1786. Per the law, 3,000,000 copper coins, each weighing 150 grains of pure copper, were to be struck during the next two years.
New Jersey copper coins all share the same motif, although many varieties exist, and most of the coins will have a distinctive look. The dates that are listed on the coins bear no resemblance to the actual date that the coins were struck, although production was limited to these years only, as per the law signed in 1786. A new law was signed into effect on November 22, 1786, before coinage commenced, as Mould appears to have gotten into disagreement with his other partners, Cox and Goadsby.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1947.jpg
    IMG_1947.jpg
    60.8 KB · Views: 639
  • IMG_1951.jpg
    IMG_1951.jpg
    88.5 KB · Views: 597
  • NJ-Maris-14-j.rev.jpg
    NJ-Maris-14-j.rev.jpg
    140 KB · Views: 585
  • images.jpg
    images.jpg
    11.9 KB · Views: 559
  • IMG_1950.jpg
    IMG_1950.jpg
    100 KB · Views: 560
Go figure. The east coast hunter goes to a "newer school ". And does he therefore find "newer coins " ?? NNEEEOOoooo. He finds a colonial copper ! Sick sick sick. :sissyfight:
 
Extra special, congratulations! Oh hey Tom in Cali one of the newer schools I detect here ( well built in the 1950’s ) is on very old ground that saw musters and encampments all the way back to the revolution so this gives me hope that I too can make you smile.:clapping:
 
Thank you!

Go figure. The east coast hunter goes to a "newer school ". And does he therefore find "newer coins " ?? NNEEEOOoooo. He finds a colonial copper ! Sick sick sick. :sissyfight:

Thanks Tom! Some of my greatest finds have been in these revitalized areas. But then again, that is where I mostly hunt. I can only image if I hit these Northeastern tot lots at these locations what I might find there...lol. I was very lucky with this one that I was able to clean it enough to get the pertinent details from it.

wow! that is one early coin,
congratulations!

Thanks LovetheShiny! Not my earliest coin but still old enough. It had to imagine the coin lasted this long in the ground.

Great find!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks coin whisperer! Once in a while I get lucky!

Way to go man, that’s a crazy amazing coin! Super congrats!

Thanks GroundSweeper! Just knowing the early history of the area the coin was found makes it all possible. I am real thrilled about it!

Those coins are so cool and to find one even cooler. Congrats on a great find!

Thanks Jamflicker! For me to research the history about the coin is as nearly as exciting as finding it. The cleaning part...well not so much...lol.

Congrats on the NJ copper...excellent dig!

Thanks Captain Silver! Thank goodness I swung my coil that extra inch to the left.

Still waiting on my Jersey copper, awesome hunting JAK!

Thanks cellrdwellr! Thank goodness for the electrolysis cleaning process on that coin. It was like giving it CPR and a new life again. I hope you find your's soon too....it's good to know they may still out there.

Extra special, congratulations! Oh hey Tom in Cali one of the newer schools I detect here ( well built in the 1950’s ) is on very old ground that saw musters and encampments all the way back to the revolution so this gives me hope that I too can make you smile.:clapping:

Thanks Wmass guy! Most of my previous LCs, etc., have been found in these type of locations. I look for where the ground has been regraded near untouched flat land. I know this coin had been passed by many others before me. I was lucky and hit that signal just right.
 
Awesome save John, I hope you are able to get more detail from it. What type of electrolysis set up do you use ? I would love to dig a colonial coin. Again congrats. HH Mark
 
Today, I went to a newer school that was built on old wooded land. Finds were scarce so I started detecting on graded hillside adjacent to the school property. I was basically digging high conductors or deep lower conductors.
..........

Awesome find and cleanup. Congrats!
 
Thank you!

Awesome save John, I hope you are able to get more detail from it. What type of electrolysis set up do you use ? I would love to dig a colonial coin. Again congrats. HH Mark

Thanks Mark! It hard to image how long this coin had remained in the ground. I plan to clean it up some more, but I did not want to cook it too much the first day. Oh, I added my electrolysis process on Friendly on another thread just in case anyone else would like to know too. With all the old stuff you have dug, I am surprised you have not found one yet? But I am sure you will too...and hopefully soon. http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=280479

Awesome find and cleanup. Congrats!

Thanks Toysoldier! The coin certainly cleaned up better than I was expecting. I now wished I had taken various stage photos as it was being cleaned.

NICE one man, even has some great details!

Thanks zeemang! Hopefully, I will be able to cleanup the front side some more too. It is a process for sure.

Sweet coinđź‘Ť

Thanks metaladdict! Sometimes an old copper is just the thing I need as to switch things up a bit from the silver or clad game.
 
I couldnt imagine finding something that old from a newly formed country.

You need to update your signature by the way. Huge Congrats
 
Back
Top Bottom