(1694) Token Elephant, Thin Planchet, BN MS(PCGS#58)

Spring 2023 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1224

等级

MS63BN

价格

55,086

详细说明

Superb Overstruck Thin Planchet Elephant On a Charles II Halfpenny Pattern Five Known Undated (ca. 1694) London Elephant Token. Hodder 2-B, W-12040, Breen-188. Rarity-5. GOD PRESERVE LONDON. Thin Planchet. MS-63 BN (PCGS). 112.7 grains. Struck on a CAROLVS A CAROLO halfpenny pattern. At first blush, this is a superb type coin - deeply lustrous, boldly struck, with frosty light brown surfaces and abundant hints of faded mint color. This is just the sort of thin planchet Elephant fussy collectors seek, with bold originality, superb eye appeal, and pristine surfaces on both sides. A deeper look reveals something more exciting, more interesting, and even more elusive. Between 9 and 12 o'clock on the obverse, at the periphery, AROLO is visible, along with the end of the ribbon in Charles II's hair and the shoulder truncation of his bust, the right peripheral designs of a scarce pattern halfpenny pressed into use as a planchet. Just five such pieces are known to us, making this rare enough to be a collector's prize but also a phenomenon whose repetition merited it a unique Breen number. Remarkably, four of the five known specimens are Uncirculated or close to it. The first example identified was in New Netherlands' 60th sale, December 1968, lot 244, described as "practically pristine … overstruck on one of the official Tower Mint patterns of the 1662-71 period reading CAROLVS A CAROLO." The Robison coin (Stack's, February 1982, lot 55), the only other one known to Breen, reappeared in our 2018 Archangel sale, there graded MS-65 BN (PCGS). A newly identified piece was offered in our E Pluribus Unum sale of November 2020, lot 4063, graded MS-63 BN (PCGS) like this one. The only circulated example was in our (ANR's), August 2006 sale, lot 6. Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the Ted Craige Collection; our Americana sale, January 2013, lot 11029. To view supplemental information and all items from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, click here. PCGS# 58. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.