Higley Coppers - Crude, Mysterious, Expensive and Very Popular Among Colonial Collectors
MidLifeCrisis
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Excerpts from the PCGS Coin Guide: Among the most interesting of all early American issues are the copper tokens struck circa 1737-1739 by Dr. Samuel Higley, of Granby, Connecticut. Higley, a medical doctor with a degree from Yale College, also practiced blacksmithing and made many experiments in metallurgy. In 1727 he devised a practical method of producing steel.
In 1728, Higley purchased property on a hill near Granby which furnished the site for many copper mines, the most famous being the extensive mine corridors and shafts which were later used as the Newgate Prison. Mines on the hill were worked extensively during the early and middle 18th century.
In October 1773, the Connecticut General Assembly passed an act which pertained to the various subterranean caverns and external buildings of the copper mines in Simsbury and converted them for use as a public jail and workhouse. Phelps, in his History of the Copper Mines in Newgate Prison at Granby, Connecticut, notes that:
"The prisoners were to be employed in mining. The crimes, by which the acts subjected offenders to confinement and labor in the prison, were burglary, horse stealing, and counterfeiting the public bills or coins, or making instruments and dies therefore."
By the time Newgate Prison was abandoned in 1827, the buildings had been destroyed by fire three times. The cruel, dark, damp conditions precipitated numerous revolts and violent incidents. Escapes were frequent.
Following his 1728 purchase, Dr. Samuel Higley operated a small but thriving mining business, which extracted exceptionally rich copper. Much if not most of the metal was exported to England. Sometime around the year 1737, Higley produced a copper token. The obverse depicted a standing deer with the legend THE VALUE OF THREEPENCE. The reverse showed three crowned hammers with the surrounding legend, CONNECTICUT, and the date 1737.
Legend tells us that drinks in the local tavern sold at the time for three pence each, and Higley was in the habit of paying his bar bill with his own coinage. There was a cry against this for the Higley copper threepence was of a diameter no larger than the contemporary British halfpennies which circulated in the area; coins which had a value of just 1/6th of that stated on the Higley coin. Thus, to state that this "halfpenny" was worth threepence was a bold affront. Accordingly, Higley redesigned his coinage so that the obverse legend was changed to read VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE. The pieces still bore an indication of value, somewhat subtle, the Roman numeral III below the standing deer. Two new reverses were designed, one of which pictured three hammers with the inscription I AM GOOD COPPER. The other reverse, picturing a broad axe, had the legend I CUT MY WAY THROUGH. The third obverse design, of which only a single specimen is known, depicted a wagon wheel with the legend THE WHEELE GOES ROUND.
While on a voyage to England in May 1737, on a ship loaded with copper from his own mine, Samuel Higley died. His oldest son, John, together with Rev. Timothy Woodbridge and William Cradock probably engraved and struck the issues of 1739.
Excerpts from the University of Notre Dame, Department of Special Collections website: Samuel Higley (1687-1737) of Simsbury (now East Granby), Connecticut was a Yale graduate who had studied medicine with Samuel Mather and Thomas Hooker. Apparently he also learned metallurgical and mining skills because in 1728 the Connecticut General Court granted Higley exclusive rights for the making of steel in the colony for a period of ten years. That same year Higley purchased 143 acres located about a mile and a half south of an area called Copper Hill, which had been a copper mining center since 1712. Higley discovered copper on his land and soon began mining ore. Apparently little else is known for certain about Higley's association with coining.
Although no documentary evidence exists directly linking Higley to the minting of coins, since colonial times he has been associated with the Connecticut copper tokens first produced in 1737 . Also, it appears Higley had the skill to make steel dies necessary for minting. Apparently, as Samuel Higley's exclusive privilege for making steel was about to expire he decided to get into the business of minting copper coins.
The scarcity of Higley coppers has been attributed to a quote from a goldsmith at the start of the Nineteenth century who mentioned Higley coppers were a reliable source of the pure copper which was required in making gold alloys but that it was very difficult to find them anymore. Daniel Freidus has done a metallurgical analysis of the copper in Higley tokens and found them to be quite pure but no better than other coppers of the period, which he states were mostly 98-99% pure copper. Thus, he concluded, "If Higleys were perceived as purer, it may have been a eighteenth-century myth that led to their selective use by goldsmiths, not an eighteenth-century fact." Possibly the legend I AM GOOD COPPER not only helped insure the acceptance of this token but may have also played a role in its destruction.
Excerpts From "The Early Coins of America" by Sylvester S. Crosby: The Granby or Higley Tokens are supposed to have been struck by John Higley of Granby, from metal obtained from the mines at 'Copper Hill' in that town, then part of Simsbury, in the State of Connecticut. The authorities appear to have taken no notice of his issues of coin, which seem to have continued for about three years, -- from 1737 to 1739 inclusive, -- specimens being extant bearing these dates, though we know of none dated 1738....
It has been said that these were the work of Dr. Samuel Higley, a physician and blacksmith: as he was not living in 1737, this must be an error.
These coppers, owing to the fine quality of the metal of which they were composed, were much in favor as an alloy for gold, and it is probably due in part to this cause that they are now so extremely rare. We are informed of an old goldsmith, aged about seventy-five years, that during his apprenticeship, his master excused himself for not having finished a string of gold beads at the time appointed, as he was unable to find a Higley copper with which to alloy the gold; thus indicating that they were not easily obtained sixty years ago.
We have heard it related of Higley, that being a frequent visitant at the public house, where at that time liquors were a common and unprohibited article of traffic, he was accustomed to pay his 'scot' in his own coin, and the coffers of the dram-seller soon became overburdened with this kind of cash, (an experience not at all likely to cause trouble to collectors of the present day,) of the type which proclaims its own value to be equal to what was then the price of a 'potation,' -- three pence. When complaint was made to Higley, upon his next application for entertainment, which was after a somewhat longer absence than was usual with him, he presented coppers bearing the words, 'Value me as you please' 'I am good copper'. Whether this 'change of base' facilitated the financial designs of the ancient coiner, or not, we have never been informed: sure we are however, that should he be aware of the immense appreciation in the value of his coppers, since that day, it would amply reward him for the insulting conduct of the publican. We cannot vouch for the truth of this 'legend,' but we believe those first issued bore the words, 'The value of three pence," and, whatever the cause, subsequent issues more modestly requested the public to value them according to their own ideas of propriety, although they did not refrain from afterwards proclaiming their own merits.
We extract the following information relating to the place where the metal for these coppers was obtained, from Phelp's History of the Copper Mines and Newgate Prison at Granby, Conn: -- 'After 1721, when a division of the mining lands took place among the lessees, each company worked at separate mines, all situated upon copper-hill, and (excepting Higley's) within the compass of less than one mile...At Higley's mine, which lies about a mile and a half south of this, extensive old workings exist, though commenced at a later period than the other. Mr. Edmund Quincy, of Boston, had a company of miners working at this place at the breaking out of the war of the revolution; soon after which the works were abandoned.'
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Sources:
PCGS Coin Guide (http://www.pcgscoinguide.com/display_guidesubcat.chtml?guidecategoryid=47&end=here&category_description=Colonials&subcat_description=Higley Copper Coinage&universeid=313&guidesubcategoryid=983 )
PCGS CoinFacts ( http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Hierarchy.aspx?c=810 )
University of Notre Dame, Department of Special Collections website (http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Higley.intro.html )
“The Higley Copper and Copper Mining in Connecticut”, by John Carter (http://geology.com/articles/higley-copper-mining.shtml )
East Granby - From the Memorial History of Hartford County, CT, Edited by: J Hammond Trumbull LL.D., Published by Edward L. Osgood, 1886, transcribed by CHARLES HORACE CLARKE (http://history.rays-place.com/ct/east-granby.htm )
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Amongst collectors of copper coinage, the Higley coppers are one of the most famous and elusive of all the copper coins struck in the United States. Many examples known are permanently housed in museums away from private collectors hands, making them much rarer on the public market than the total known number suggests (90+ examples known in multiple die varieties)
This is one I just handled. (Pictures by Heritage)
I bet the creator never thought his pieces would fetch such incredible sums.
Equally mysterious is why the great [city removed for security purposes], Connecticut collector Longacre has not taken an interest in these.
Perhaps he is quietly forming a world-class assemblage of Higleys which will be unveiled in due time.
Scene: A Connecticut coin show, 2007.
"I heard you know about colonials?"
"I like them, yes. What can I do for you?"
"Do you know anything about Higleys?"
"I've gotten to catalogue a number of them. Why do you ask?"
[Stranger hands coin in Air-Tite to dealer behind table]
"I live in Simsbury, up state. I found this one with a metal detector."
"Holy %^&@$#"
"Is it real?"
"It's worn, and ugly, but hell yeah it's real!"
"Thank you for being the first person with the [guts] to tell me what I knew already. No one else would do anything but hem and haw."
"Please let me buy it? Please? Please? Pretty please?"
"No thanks. Have a great day!"
A year or two later, that gentleman wrote me and asked if I could get it into a PCGS Genuine holder for him. I did, and as far as I know, he still owns it.
Betts medals, colonial coins, US Mint medals, foreign coins found in early America, and other numismatic Americana
I approve of this thread!
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
<< <i>We'll soon see MidLifeCrisis pounding the sand on colonial row sign in hand reading "Will work for Higley... Use me as you please" >>
Well, I do want one pretty badly...
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
<< <i>We'll soon see MidLifeCrisis pounding the sand on colonial row sign in hand reading "Will work for Higley... Use me as you please" >>
....for as long as necessary"
Thanks so much for such an absolutely fantastic post!! :-)
<< <i>The average price of a Higley is probably around $50K...I'm cheap, but I aint free! >>
Maybe you should actually consider being the Pedicure Guy at shows, as the Masseuses make good money!
Will Nipper wrote a great piece about Higley Coppers in his book In Yankee Doodle’s Pocket. Here’s an excerpt. It's long, but well worth the read, imho -
With a little imagination, every old coin has a story to tell. Holding a Higley copper, one might envision traveling through Simsbury, Connecticut, on a snowy evening. Digress for a moment and picture the window of a local tavern glowing warmly from the four candles of a special lantern. A welcome sight, the four rayed, flickering lights proclaim from behind frosted glass that this is a “four star” establishment. That is, for a fee, the tavern-keeper provides the four essentials: beds, victuals, drinks and livery services. To beat back the chill, you stop in and order a tankard of hot flip, a tasty blend of beer, raw eggs, and molasses, heated to odd perfection with an iron rod from the fireplace. You sit down at a small table, its top made from a single wide plank. The tree from which it came must have been huge, a reminder of the country’s great natural wealth. England had no such treasure and, hence by law a tree so large could only be harvested for the King’s use, that is, unless it blew down in a storm. In that case, the fortunate landowner could keep his “windfall”. What other king is so generous?
The door opens and a local doctor, Samuel Higley, comes in from the cold to order a drink of his own. He stands by the fireplace and, as is the custom in taverns of the day, pulls a long clay pipe from the several stashed in a hole above the mantel. He breaks off the end mouthed by the previous smoker and tosses it in the fire. Stuffing his pipe with fine Virginia tobacco and lighting it with a burning twig, Higley ambles over to take a seat.
Conversation reveals that he is something of a renaissance man: a Yale graduate who has studied medicine, the trades, and, oddly, metallurgy. He even owns a local copper mine and, perhaps most surprisingly, makes his own coins. What would His Majesty, George II, think? After all, only sovereign nations can make coins. Individuals or even colonies who do so are traitors to the crown.
The hour grows late. Dr. Higley graciously thanks you for your company and offers to pay the bill – it comes to six pence. From a small bag, he pulls a few coppers, each the size of a common hapny, and gives the tavern-keeper two of them. She smiles knowingly and gestures “more.” In a time when the value of a coin depends on its weight, no right-minded merchant will accept the two halfpence for a debt six times as great. Dr. Higley insists that his homemade coins are made of good copper and are worth threepence each. After some good natured negotiation, he reluctantly throws a few more on the table, binds his coat and leaves. The bright coppers appear golden in the candlelight. Each one bears the simple image of a deer and the words VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE, a cynical testament to Higley’s difficulty in passing his “threepence”.
any idea of the value of the coins pictured if they were come up for auction today.
otherwise i enjoyed the history. seemed more like a story then a boring coin blurb
about date/mintage.
I knew it would happen.
Great writeup, great cut and paste and above all some great photos!
<< <i>the subject of your thread mentions the word expensive yet you do not give us
any idea of the value of the coins pictured if they were come up for auction today. >>
Here are some auction records with grade, amount sold for, and date
AG3
$40,250
Mar-2010
VF25
$57,500
May-2008
VF25
$63,250
Jan-2007
XF
$69,000
May-2004
VF
$26,800
May-2004
XF
$218,500
May-2004
EF40
$16,000
Sep-1980
AG3
$27,600
Mar-2010
F15
$80,500
May-2007
VF/VG
$36,800
May-2004
F15
$51,750
Jan-2011
VG10
$43,125
Mar-2010
F15
$48,875
Jan-2010
<< <i>Yes, very cool. Would like to know if there's any deeper significance to the various mottos "J CUT MY WAY THROUGH", &c. >>
Excellent question, but I do not have an answer.
TD
<< <i>I have never handled a Higley Copper so I am curious as to the size--- for those of you who HAVE, are the Higley coppers as big in diameter as the later 1780s state coppers? Are the Higley coppers thick coins? Thin and lightweight? >>
I've only handled a couple of them, and those were in slabs...but they are about as big in diameter as a Connecticut copper, and I have been told by experts that they have roughly the same thickness too.
<< <i>I have never handled a Higley Copper so I am curious as to the size--- for those of you who HAVE, are the Higley coppers as big in diameter as the later 1780s state coppers? Are the Higley coppers thick coins? Thin and lightweight? >>
The Higley coppers are about the same diameter as a regular State Copper issue (27-29mm). Their weights can vary greatly, from 110 to 160+ grains. though it seems that the Value of a Threepence (3 Hammers reverse) tend to have weights in the heavier range, while the Broadaxe examples are normally in the 125-135 grains weight range.
I've only been offered a Higley copper once, and that was at a Boston coin shop more than 20 years ago. The piece was barely recognizable so I guess the grade would have been PO-01. The price was $4,200, and I would not have dreamed of paying that much for something that was so poorly preserved. That’s just me.
Here are the two pieces that I have that the closest to Higley coppers in my collection
According to his advertising token Mr. Robinson was involved in many trades and professions.
This second piece is an Indiana primitive, Fuld Civil War patriotic token # 9/431a. Collectors have speculated that Henry D. Higgins, who made the dies for this piece, owned a Higley copper which gave him the “Value me as you pleas” idea. Higgins copied the obverse die from another Civil War token and made the reverse die himself from scratch.
<< <i>Yes, very cool. Would like to know if there's any deeper significance to the various mottos "J CUT MY WAY THROUGH", &c. >>
With regards to the specific meanings of the legends, I am not sure why certain legends were chosen. I (J) Cut My Way Through could be in reference to everyday life. (Maybe John Kraljevich knows the answer to this) Also, there is a unique Higley copper with the legend THE WHEELE GOES ROUND showing a picture of a wagon wheel, another possible reference to everyday colonial life!
Again, completely a guess.
<< <i> an old thread...I updated some of the image links. >>
Good thread to bump.
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In October of 2011 I and my lady found ourselves passing through East Granby, CT. By chance we drove past the Old Newgate prison, and after a while of "that sounds familiar..." we turned around and up the road we went. The place was deserted- closed, no other cars, and some "no entry" type warnings that kept us outside the walls proper. But we were able to walk around the grounds a bit. This is some of what we saw. Enjoy.
<< <i>As this thread was resurrected (gladly), I thought I'd add some to it.
In October of 2011 I and my lady found ourselves passing through East Granby, CT. By chance we drove past the Old Newgate prison, and after a while of "that sounds familiar..." we turned around and up the road we went. The place was deserted- closed, no other cars, and some "no entry" type warnings that kept us outside the walls proper. But we were able to walk around the grounds a bit. This is some of what we saw. Enjoy.
>>
Go back at night with a metal detector!!!!!
<< <i>Well you know for a fact they are laying on the ground in Simsbury Ct.
Great writeup, great cut and paste and above all some great photos! >>
i know a guy who found one. it took em forever to get it slabbed to. anac's did it for him. supposidly the other two grading companies had trouble with it and there not being to much detail to it been there to mac and live in the area as well, nice pics to
Extremely Rare 1739 Higley Copper
Ex: Prann Collection, 1947 ANA Sale
Description: 182.7 grains. Exemplary light brown surfaces, so unusual for a Higley copper, are nearly smooth, showing only the most minor sort of fine granularity under magnified scrutiny. The deer and denomination stand out boldly on the obverse, as well detailed as ever, while the legends are just fragments: LUE ME on the left side and PLEASE on the right. Several dull dents are seen, undoubtedly present since this coin was an overvalued halfpenny, with a few present over the deer and another on the rim at 8 o'clock. The axe is mostly visible on the reverse, and the legend is somewhat present: J UT WAY T RO. The last date digit is clear with a glass, and the 3 is present with a glass and a bit of imagination. A few dull dents are present on the reverse side, like the obverse. There are no sharp nicks, only the most insignificant pits, and no modern insults whatsoever. This is a wholly original, handsome, fairly well detailed Higley copper of the most desirable sort, struck from the sole dated 1739 reverse with the famed Broad Axe design. When we offered the unique 3.1-D Higley in our 2007 Henry Leon sale, we noted just 12 specimens from this reverse (Friedus reverse D) were known at the time of the 1994 Friedus ANS monograph. The Medio / Da Costa Gomez coin and the Leon sale coin made 13 and 14 (Boyd-Ford had none). At least four are in permanent museum collections. The present specimen was not among the five examples of Friedus 3.2-D identified when the Friedus manuscript was published, i.e. the Bushnell-Garrett piece, the Connecticut State Library piece, the Zabriskie-Newman Museum piece, the Norweb coin, and the Green-Oeschner coin. Of the four held privately, the Oeschner coin and the Da Costa Gomez coin are the only obviously superior ones, while the Garrett and Norweb coins are both low grade pieces with perhaps a little more sharpness in areas but without the nice color and surfaces here. Judging one finer than the other is a fool's errand. This coin has long been known, if not studied and attributed, as it was not plated in the 1947 ANA sale, where it was described as "considerable wear as usual. These very rare coins simply do not come up in better condition." PCGS# 219.
From the John "Jack" Royse Collection. Purchased from French's in 1969; earlier from Numismatic Gallery's 1947 ANA sale of the Robert Prann Collection, August 1947, lot 579.
It will be interesting to see what it brings.
Bottom line these are cool coins for Colonial afficianados but rare and dear.
It was the practice in the day to haul the garbage away in the wagon and dump it away from the building. If you look at the area you see the prison is on a hill, they would haul the garbage to the bottom of the hill and dump it when they started up the next hill. I found some nice bottles and other relics in the 60s.
Interesting read LOL bought back alot of memories
https://thepennylady.com/
Lot 197 1737 Higley or Granby Copper. Freidus 3.1-B.a, W-8240. VALUE ME AS YOU PLEASE, 3 Hammers. Good-6 (PCGS).
Lot 198 Undated (1737) Higley or Granby Copper. Freidus 3.2-C, W-8260. J CUT MY WAY THROUGH, Broad Axe. Fine Details--Environmental Damage (PCGS).
<< <i>A true coin show story:
Scene: A Connecticut coin show, 2007.
"I heard you know about colonials?"
"I like them, yes. What can I do for you?"
"Do you know anything about Higleys?"
"I've gotten to catalogue a number of them. Why do you ask?"
[Stranger hands coin in Air-Tite to dealer behind table]
"I live in Simsbury, up state. I found this one with a metal detector."
"Holy %^&@$#"
"Is it real?"
"It's worn, and ugly, but hell yeah it's real!"
"Thank you for being the first person with the [guts] to tell me what I knew already. No one else would do anything but hem and haw."
"Please let me buy it? Please? Please? Pretty please?"
"No thanks. Have a great day!"
A year or two later, that gentleman wrote me and asked if I could get it into a PCGS Genuine holder for him. I did, and as far as I know, he still owns it. >>
i like a few miles from simsbury and more then likely know the guy. there were a few more found in this area as well.
<< <i>I'm not really sure why, but I do love these coins! >>
I'd settle for an original Higley in a nice choice unc. condition............no need for RB or Red; just a nice mellow, medium lavender-brown would be fine!
We are in the process of creating an appraisal page for these Higley coppers, and I would like to ask if anybody here owns the rights to any of the images of the coins posted in this thread? If so, I would like to please ask for permission to use the images on the page, with a full mention of whoever provided the images on our copyright page.
If anybody should own the rights to images not on this page, please feel free to reply as well.
Thanks for reading - I hope you will be able to help!