1788 Cent Massachusetts, Period, BN VF35BN 认证号44800245, PCGS号948

From the Earlycoppercoins PCGS Registry Set. 1788 Massachusetts Copper Cent, Ryder 12-I, Period After Massachusetts, R4-. This coin has been authenticated and graded by PCGS as VF35, and frankly it is VERY undergraded because in hand it faces up as a CHOICE AU. I think PCGS was fooled a bit by the strike on this coin, because the obverse is definitely weaker than the reverse. That reverse is in fact fully AU50+ and I don't know if you call it gloss or luster, but regardless it is gorgeous and CHOICE! To balance my opinion with the PCGS grade, I will roll with CHOICE EF40+, and opine that if CAC were still certifying colonials, that this one would certainly get a sticker! Ex-Ebay 2008; Furnace Run collection 08/20/24.

Ron Guth

1788 Massachusetts Cents are divided into two categories: With Period after MASSACHUSETTS and No Period after MASSACHUSETTS.  As a group, the No Period varieties are much scarcer than the With Period.  Numerous varieties comprise the With Period variety, some of which are common, others of which are quite rare.  The die varieties are designated with Ryder numbers, after Hillyer Ryder, the collector who published a die study in 1920 (for those who are interested in obtaining a copy, reprints are readily available on online sites such as eBay).

Until recently, it was difficult to locate examples of the With Period in Mint State.  The sale of the Donald Partrick Collection in early 2015 changed all that.  The PCGS Condition Census reveals that almost all of the Top 10 examples of this variety are from his collection.  The finest example certified by PCGS is a single MS66BN which -- no surprise -- is from the Partrick Collection. 

In an odd twist, the top price realized at auction for a 1788 Massachusetts With Period Cent was $64,625 for a desirable and rare, contemporary counterfeit, Ryder 14-J -- from the Partrick Collection!