(No Date) Token Philadelphia 3rd Presbyterian Communion, Burzinski-5647 MS(PCGS#970300)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1511

等级

XF40

价格

4,630

详细说明

21.1 mm. 77.8 grains. Cast, as are all. An extremely rare early American communion token, unlisted by Breen despite his thorough listing of early American communion token in his <em>Encyclopedia</em>. The obverse is anepigraphic, with a large Sacred Heart insignia (a heart with flames emerging from the top). The reverse reads, in three lines, PHILA / DEL / PHIA. Dots appear over both I and L of PHILA. The surfaces are antique pewter gray with scattered light marks, more prevalent on the low relief reverse than the higher relief obverse. A tiny casting flaw or nick is seen on the obverse rim at 10 o'clock. The reverse shows a few little rim nicks. The edges are rounded, with a casting seam visible in areas, but no filing seen. The overall appearance is very pleasant, especially for this composition. It does not resemble later copies of this design in patina, edge shape, or texture.<p>There are two die/mold varieties of this token, though we cannot trace another example from these dies/molds. Burzinski-5647 is the variety offered here. The other variety, Burzinski-5648, shows a smaller heart, no dot over L of PHILA, and different special relationships in PHILA / DEL / PHIA. The modern restrikes, made about 1958, replicate the other variety. An original example of the other variety made the <em>New York Times</em> when Rich Hartzog sold an example for the stunning price of $105.50 in a 1979 mail bid sale (February 1979 World Exonumia MBS #4, lot 1920). Coin Galleries sold an example of the other variety that had been authenticated by communion token authority Autence Bason in August 2009, lot 6537, describing it as one of three known of the type; that example looks like a worn example of a 1958 replica to your cataloger. The only other auction references we can locate for one of these are both from a century ago, though neither was plated so variety confirmation is impossible. In S. Hudson Chapman's sale of February 1911, lot 15 was described as "very fine" and "rare," it brought $2, more than four times as much as the Unc. Virginia halfpenny one lot earlier. Wayte Raymond's legendary sale of the W.W.C. Wilson Collection, sold in November 1925, lot 341 was a group lot of Philadelphia tokens that included one of these described as "Lead. Fine. Very Rare."<p>The New York Associate Church communion token, oval and dated 1799, has long since been adopted into collections of early American coins and avidly sought by early American token enthusiasts. Other early American communion tokens are either extremely rare (like the Associate Church token of Philadelphia, which resembles the New York version in oval shape and overall texture), very expensive (the Albany Church pennies), paper, or offer so little to attribute them (like two random initials, for instance) that their identifications must be called into doubt. This token stands apart from all of them: its ethnic (i.e. its geographical identifier) is clear and its identification has been in the canon for generations. All this token lacks is a healthy population of surviving tokens to make it collectible. The 20th century copies are occasionally around, and many are now old enough (and handled enough) that they have started to resemble something of real antiquity. This specimen is special, both for its clear status as a product of the 18th century and the fact that its variety makes it very evidently not one of the ca. 1958 copies. Mr. August valued this highly and appreciated its importance. Your cataloger has been ready to encounter an authentic one for decades and had to wait until now. Most modern collectors have likely never seen one either.