John Roper - A Giant of Colonial Era Collecting

MidLifeCrisis

John L. Roper, 2nd, was "a prominent Virginia industrialist and public figure". He assembled one of the finest collections of colonial era coins ever to come to public auction. The coins were sold by Stack's in December 1983. According to the auction catalog, the collection contained many fantastic rarities including:

• Six specimens of Sommer Islands coinage, including the extremely rare shilling with large sails, a superb sixpence with small portholes, and a twopence
• Thirty six pieces of Massachusetts silver including the finest known (at the time...maybe still) New England Sixpence
• A complete set of Maryland coinage, including shilling, sixpence, groat (fourpence), and denarium
• A complete set of regular issue Rosa Americana coinage along with a large number of Rosa Americana pattern pieces
• An extremely rare "God Preserve New England" Elephant Token
• A 1714 Gloucester Token (Amazing rarity - 2 or 3 known - and a mysterious and fabulous coin, I think)
• Seven (!) different examples of Higley Copper coinage
• A brass Continental Dollar
• A Standish Barry Silver Threepence
• Two Albany Church Pennies
• Complete set of three Myddelton Token varieties (copper, silver, and COPPER COMPANY OF UPPER CANADA reverse)

For more:
https://stacksbowers.com/collection-colonial-coins/
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=3&AuctionId=516579