Die trial of a famous Civil War Token, Straight's Elephantine Shoe Store
DCW
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Here is a very interesting piece, one which formerly resided in the collection of George and Melvin Fuld.
Straight's Elephantine Shoe Store, struck on an oval copper planchet, PCGS MS62, unique
Rich Rossa acquired this for his own immense collection of NY tokens, and considered it among the strangest pieces he had seen. And I agree! It resembles an elongated cent at first glance, but it is thicker with the smooth edges of a prepared planchet that is oval in shape.
Why was this made? After 150 years, we can only speculate. But this is exactly what draws so many towards exonumia. The "mystery."
The Straight's Shoe Store token is popular for its depiction of an elephant proudly marching forward wearing boots. It is considered common by exonumia standards, but finding a nice one is not an easy task. Here is one I recently acquired from CRO in NGC MS65, and it is among the best I've seen:
NY 10F-1a, Straight's Elephantine Shoe Store, Albany, NY. NGC MS65
Thanks for looking!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Comments
Very unusual. Wild guess: struck on a rolled out half cent or some other coin or token because the die maker wanted a relatively flat piece of metal to do a trial strike on?
A friend of mine has several 1848 French patterns struck on old copper coins from various countries, some from the 1700's. Perhaps it was a common practice for trial strikes in the era.
What's the weight?
Awesome piece @DCW! You have a very cool collection!
Latin American Collection
I would like to see a snap shot of your collection must be Very Impressive! I am always blown away on your collection thank you for sharing with us.
Most excellent piece.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Speaking of shapes, anyone know of a quarter moon shaped merchant token?
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That is so very cool @DCW I have never heard much less seen this one! Thanks for posting.
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Thanks. I deal in exonumia, so most of these things are ultimately for sale. The problem is, I get "high on my own supply," and it is difficult to part with pieces that speak my language!
Trying to stay focused within my core collection of Merriam pieces, but certain tokens just draw me in.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
This is a great token as are many in your inventory. Since you have so many choice pieces, it would be great to catalog these and add your provenance to the pieces. There is a precedence as @ErrorsOnCoins makes a point to “collect from his inventory” and Jeff Shevlin adds his provenance to his choice pieces. Thanks for sharing this unique piece.
Perhaps, but wouldnt you think some remains of the undertype would be present?
I have no idea as it is in a PCGS slab. I guess we could subtract the plastic if that is a known weight.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
That is a real nice piece. I like it
Perhaps, depending upon how worn out the hypothetical undertype was when it was rolled.
Check the high areas of the token strike for stray designs that should not be there.
Okay that's just too cool... Congrats on acquiring that!
Awesome thanks for sharing
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/publishedset/209923
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/album/209923
Very impressive... I like the Albany, NY connection... That is about 45 miles north of me...Cheers, RickO
Late die state, or? Seems rather crude.
The fields do look unusually non-flat in the oversized oval planchet piece. The non-struck planchet is flat so it’s strange to have fields that aren’t flat, even when there’s less than desirable pressure. Perhaps @dcarr can chime in?
Restrike from rusted dies?
I don't see evidence of rust pits on the oval piece that I typically associate with rusted dies.
Are there any normal planchet tokens with a similar surface? I wonder if there is some sort of die failure here.
If the planchet was rough, the fields of the token would have the least roughness and the devices (and the un-struck areas) the most. That is not what I see here. It appears to be a die deterioration issue. If so, that would mean it is a later strike.
According to the Smithsonian, this was struck by Scovill Manufacturing. If this is a later strike, I wonder if it was done by Scovill or by someone who acquired the dies? Does anyone know if the dies were acquired and used to make restrikes?
Bump in case anyone missed this in the sea of 2019-S American Silver Eagle threads...
Thanks for the comments everyone!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Very interesting. Thanks for positing it.
I now am pretty sure restrike from rusted dies.