NGC Registry Featured Set: US Colonial Coins

The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is just days away, so this is a great time to look at coinage struck in the earliest years of the United States as well as the two centuries of the colonial period that proceeded it. The NGC Registry contains more than 600 sets from the Early American Period, with the most popular category being US Colonial Issues, 1616-1828, Complete. With a commanding lead (over more than 150 other competitors) is the Resolute Americana Colonial Collection.

The collection begins with the coinage of Massachusetts in the mid-1600s, including the 'NE' Shilling shown here, which is pedigreed to the Donald G. Partrick Collection and is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. This rudimentary initial design was quickly followed by ones incorporating trees — willow, oak, and pine.

This Maryland (1659) Lord Baltimore 4 Pence is also pedigreed to the Partrick Collection and is also worth six figures. These were struck in four denominations during the Commonwealth period, when England and its colonies lacked a king. They are eagerly sought by collectors today due to their history and rarity.

The 1776 Continental Dollars are among the most enigmatic and fascinating in all numismatics, with a theme of unity of the states that made up the new nation. They were struck in a variety of metals (this one is a rare silver example) and went through several design changes, including variations in the spelling of the word CURRENCY (which is spelled CURENCY on this example). Pedigreed to Garrett and Partrick, it realized more than $1.5 million at a Heritage Auctions sale in 2015.

A final highlight is a Nova Constellatio 1783 SM 'US' Blunt Rays pattern from the Eric. P. Newman Collection. With the letters US at the center of the reverse, these are the first circulating coins to have an inscription of the United States. More than a million of these copper coins were struck, many of them bearing the date of 1783, the year the Revolutionary War ended with Britain recognizing the independence of the new nation.

With 15 NGC "Top Pops" among some of the greatest coins in numismatics, the Resolute Americana Colonial Collection is a stunning monument to early American coinage. It has earned Top Ranked honors for the past five NGC Registry Awards. Thank you, Roblou270, for sharing it with the NGC Registry community.

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Would you like your set to be featured in a future article? 100% completion in a set is not always feasible. Perhaps we will choose someone whose set has a personal story behind it or some interesting historical facts. We are looking for those sets where someone has taken the time to make the set unique and a reflection of his/her personal collecting style. It may be your set! Stay tuned.