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1803 half eagle-like "kettle" token: Any info?
Baley
Posts: 22,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
Hello, what can any token experts tell me about the circumstances of the history of these items?
what period are they from? who made them? what was their purpose? thanks in advance.
what period are they from? who made them? what was their purpose? thanks in advance.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
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Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
The following is Andrew Pollack's take on it: "I get the impression
that Judd thought AW-22 was actually the 1803 $2.50 KETTLE
gaming token, and he seems to indicate that he was actually aware
of some of these receiving the AW-22 attribution in catalogues.
I'm not aware of any specific auction records wherein AW
numbers have been assigned to KETTLE pieces.
Although I doubt Edgar Adams would have been deceived by a
KETTLE token, it's possible that a mid-19th-century cataloguer
might have been, especially if the token had been altered by
removing the letters KETTLE. Hence, I presume Adams got his
listing from an auction catalogue or a dealer's FPL.
I list the brass and silver KETTLE $2.50 in my book as P-8001
and 8010, respectively. Judd also mentions "copper gilt"
KETTLE tokens.
I guess the question to resolve is "When did KETTLE tokens first
appear?" If they were produced prior to 1859, then the listing can
probably be safely attributed to them. Unfortunately, since my
numismatic library is still in storage in NH, I can't do any checking."
The reference to Kettle tokens sent me scurrying to my
library to find L. B. Fauver's 1981 book, "Exonomia Symbolism
& Classification": "The Kettle firm was begun during the 1780s
by Henry Kettle, and his sons Thomas and William joined the
firm sometime probably shortly after 1800. Thomas Kettle took
over responsibilities about 1812 and continued to run the business
until at least the late 1830's...
The vast majority of Kettle pieces served as counters... their
great similarity in both design and size to contemporary gold
guineas, gold half guineas, gold one-third guineas, and to
American gold quarter eagle and gold half eagles." (pp v-vi)
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
anyone know anything further? anyone have one too?
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
it IS thin, kind of like a draped bust quarter.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
<< <i>I believe it to be gilt brass.
it IS thin, kind of like a draped bust quarter. >>
Kinda cool. The top pics make it look half dime or 3¢s thin.
Maine_Jim
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Maine_Jim