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2025-126, Coin
1787 "Serpent Head" New Jersey Copper
2025-126, Coin

1787 "Serpent Head" New Jersey Copper

Dateca.1787-1789
OriginAmerica, Mid-Atlantic
MediumCopper
DimensionsDiameter: 28 mm; Weight: 115.5 grains
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number2025-126
DescriptionSo-called "Serpent Head" imitation of a New Jersey copper. Obverse with a horse's head facing right, over a plow also facing right, with the date 1787 in exergue and the legend NOVA CAESAREA around, all surrounded by a rim of saw-tooth dentils. Reverse with a large outlined shield filled with narrow horizontal stripes above broad vertical stripes surrounded by the legend * E * PLURIBUS * UNUM * and a rim of saw-tooth dentils.Label TextThe decade between 1783 and 1793 saw an explosion of copper coins struck for circulation within the New Republic, adding to the wide array of "coppers" already in use. Along with the common British halfpenny, most, if not all of these new issues were counterfeited or imitated in the United States.

Borrowing the horsehead and plow from the state’s coat of arms, the coinage struck for New Jersey between 1786 and 1789 looks like no other. This variety, long known as the “Serpent Head” for the distinctive form of the animal’s head, is a lightweight counterfeit made during the era.