Very interesting article in the JR E-Newsletter about early copper finds to be auctioned by Stack's
Longacre
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Did anyone else see this article in the John Reich E-Newsletter, written by Jim Matthews? I have been busy and I have not had a chance to read it until just now (I also have not read this week's E-Sylum, which is killing me). I quickly got absorbed in this story, and I can't wait to see the Stack's catalog and the full write up of these pieces. Can anyone say bidding frenzy??
*************
An intriguing item turned up about a year ago that will interest several collectors out there in our numismatic spheres. A building was being razed (shouldn't that be leveled?) in Philadelphia, on the same block as the original Mint. Happening upon this event, a person with a metal detector asked if he could sweep over the site once the demolition process had removed the old building but before the new foundation was laid. This day was about to become part of numismatic lore.
Two metallic items were found of interest that day, both happened to be copper. Both have been consigned to the Stack's August sale in Milwaukee. One was a 1793 half cent, the coin was essentially Uncirculated but had apparently spent 213 years in the damp Philadelphia soil and exhibited rough, porous or corroded surfaces. This, of course, is the natural direction copper goes, whether exposed to moisture or not, copper and most metal objects eventually corrode.
The coin was graded Unc. Details by NCS. That coin was ably catalogued by my colleague John Kraljevich who also assisted me in the second find of that breezy, sunny day a year ago.
The other object that the earth yielded up was unlike anything quite seen before. It was an oddly shaped-- irregular if you will, something like an stealth jet in the form of a V or L--it was verdant green like the springtime leaves--yet it held a strange message from the past. Upon examination the digits 798 were plainly visible--below the bust of Liberty--stars were present. On the back of this strange object was a clear eagle with a shield, letters showed clearly.
This strange copper fragment was sent to the ANS director Robert Hoge where it was quickly identified as a 1798 dollar, but it was struck in--copper--.
Numismatists have heard about a few examples of early silver or even gold coins from the Philadelphia Mint being struck on copper planchets, these important off metal strikings were almost certainly test pieces of new dies, some were defaced with chisel marks, others were later cut down and made into half cents or perhaps melted into copper ingots to be rolled into new planchets for half cents or large cents. Only a few have survived intact like the famous unique 1794 copper with stars "silver" dollar in the Smithsonian--donated by Stack's. One feature of all known examples of these off metal strikings is that they were struck on regularly sized, round planchets.
This bizarre thing held by Mr. Hoge was clearly anything but round.
A review of the Bowers-Borckardt Encyclopedia and the Bolender variety book determined both dies to be known, the B-30, BB-116 variety. Okay, well and good, a known pair of dies used to strike coins. But was this a die trial piece? Absolutely not--the copper fragment, despite all the age induced green corrosion and encrusted areas--showed dramatic and catastrophic die cracks. Die cracks known from the --terminal--die state, hardly a trial piece to test the dies but what appears to be a trial piece to condemn this dies? Why would this be so? When assisting the staff at Stack's to catalogue this remarkable piece I was asked to work on the diagnostic portion of the dies, a specialty I delight in. I noted down the important features. This was made from one of my favorite dies, the classic Black Widow obverse who shattered at least six reverse "mates" all the while showing only moderate cracks herself, cracks which form a unique smile from below the date and curling up into each field surrounding Liberty. These "smile" cracks are easily identifiable and unique to this obverse die.
So where does the B-30, BB-116 fall in the Black Widow's orgy of husbandry? Well, sort of in the middle, but curiously and I feel importantly, the following variety mated to this husband devouring wife was the B-33, BB-117 variety, a die pairing which is represented by a mere 3 examples today, the rarest Heraldic Eagle dollar die marriage! The B-33, BB-117 reverse die failed quickly, all three known examples show a bisecting crack, two show the crack very heavy with the die clearly separating into two separate plains. It is likely that 80-100 were struck originally, but only 3 survived to today, which is the approximate survival ratio for Bust Dollars from the original mintages reported. Clearly that reverse die marriage didn't "work out" as planned, and a new reverse die was needed to continue coinage.
When thinking this copper fragment and the fact that the following die marriage failed so quickly, could it be possible that once the coiner determined that the prior reverse die needed replacing on the B-30, BB-116 marriage that the reverse die was set aside for "supervisory condemnation"? Next the coiner went to the die vault in the next door building off Sugar Alley. After returning with the only reverse dollar die available and placing it the coining press to commence coining--the massive bisecting crack formed on that reverse. Okay, hang in there, now the coiner has yet another broken reverse die, the one in the press at this moment is the B-33, BB-117 variety. The 100 or so coins produced all show a dramatic and fatal die crack spanning the reverse. The coiner has orders to coin many more dollars today--yet knows there are no more reverse dies in the vault. The supervisor comes by and says why aren't you coining dollars?
The coiner grabs a freshly minted B-33, BB-117 from the basket (can I have another one too?), despite the blazing lustre and warmth from the coining process, the dramatic die crack across the reverse can't be missed, even by the supervisor. Okay he says, what else have you to work with? The prior batch of B-30,BB-116 dollars are off to the counting room where the bean counters are having their way with them. The coiner removes the anvil reverse die with the terminal crack and places the old B-30, BB-116 back into the press, looks around and finds a piece of scrap copper on the ground. The coiner places the fragment on the anvil die and gives the screw press a mighty turn. The copper is crushed between the dies, but is retrieved by the coiner who presents the fragment to the supervisor. It was hot from the coining process, blazing bright red and yet the obvious multitude of cracks were seen on the reverse, the obverse with the "smiling cracks" while the reverse shows something on the order of 20 separate die cracks, one of the largest forming a unique oval shape through the right wing, another splitting the shield like a spear.
The supervisor tosses the struck copper fragment back to the coiner and says, okay, both reverse dies are shot, go get another--I looked--go look again. Off goes the coiner to the building with the hot fragment in hand, after leaving the building he walks into the alley toward the die vault building. In disgust he hurls the copper fragment--a fragment made to be thrown into the air like a skipping stone--it lands in a weedy patch of dirt, forgotten. No new die is found in the vault, meanwhile the engraver hastily prepares the next reverse for the Black Widow obverse to devour--the B-28, BB-118 die pairing. Silver dollar coinage will have to wait for the engraver to finish the reverse die and harden it.
Wishing for a journey like that from the "Time Machine" by Jules Verne, this fragment has come forward to our present day to leave clues but tell no complete tale. If only we could travel back and watch this day unfold to know how it came about. Perhaps ask why there are no others like it? I have speculated how this came to us, based on what I have before me, a curious fragment completely and utterly like no other known from the early years in the Philadelphia Mint.
Portions are not struck at all, beyond the reach of the dies, where the dentils stretch but leave off--double the thickness of the struck portion, testifying to the strength of the strike of the fragment hit by the dies. Perhaps it was an idle moment at the Mint where a small piece of scrap was struck just to see what would happen, any number of threads can be woven. Without question, this is one of the most unusual and historic pieces of early Mint history to pass through these doors, and needless to say, a lot of history has crossed this threshold. We hope this fragment goes to a collector who appreciates its significance as the only struck metal fragment known from the early Philadelphia Mint.
The catalogue should be going to the printer shortly and will be out in a few weeks, the copper fragment will be available for viewing as stated in the catalogue.
Any questions can be directed to me at jimm@stacks.com
*************
An intriguing item turned up about a year ago that will interest several collectors out there in our numismatic spheres. A building was being razed (shouldn't that be leveled?) in Philadelphia, on the same block as the original Mint. Happening upon this event, a person with a metal detector asked if he could sweep over the site once the demolition process had removed the old building but before the new foundation was laid. This day was about to become part of numismatic lore.
Two metallic items were found of interest that day, both happened to be copper. Both have been consigned to the Stack's August sale in Milwaukee. One was a 1793 half cent, the coin was essentially Uncirculated but had apparently spent 213 years in the damp Philadelphia soil and exhibited rough, porous or corroded surfaces. This, of course, is the natural direction copper goes, whether exposed to moisture or not, copper and most metal objects eventually corrode.
The coin was graded Unc. Details by NCS. That coin was ably catalogued by my colleague John Kraljevich who also assisted me in the second find of that breezy, sunny day a year ago.
The other object that the earth yielded up was unlike anything quite seen before. It was an oddly shaped-- irregular if you will, something like an stealth jet in the form of a V or L--it was verdant green like the springtime leaves--yet it held a strange message from the past. Upon examination the digits 798 were plainly visible--below the bust of Liberty--stars were present. On the back of this strange object was a clear eagle with a shield, letters showed clearly.
This strange copper fragment was sent to the ANS director Robert Hoge where it was quickly identified as a 1798 dollar, but it was struck in--copper--.
Numismatists have heard about a few examples of early silver or even gold coins from the Philadelphia Mint being struck on copper planchets, these important off metal strikings were almost certainly test pieces of new dies, some were defaced with chisel marks, others were later cut down and made into half cents or perhaps melted into copper ingots to be rolled into new planchets for half cents or large cents. Only a few have survived intact like the famous unique 1794 copper with stars "silver" dollar in the Smithsonian--donated by Stack's. One feature of all known examples of these off metal strikings is that they were struck on regularly sized, round planchets.
This bizarre thing held by Mr. Hoge was clearly anything but round.
A review of the Bowers-Borckardt Encyclopedia and the Bolender variety book determined both dies to be known, the B-30, BB-116 variety. Okay, well and good, a known pair of dies used to strike coins. But was this a die trial piece? Absolutely not--the copper fragment, despite all the age induced green corrosion and encrusted areas--showed dramatic and catastrophic die cracks. Die cracks known from the --terminal--die state, hardly a trial piece to test the dies but what appears to be a trial piece to condemn this dies? Why would this be so? When assisting the staff at Stack's to catalogue this remarkable piece I was asked to work on the diagnostic portion of the dies, a specialty I delight in. I noted down the important features. This was made from one of my favorite dies, the classic Black Widow obverse who shattered at least six reverse "mates" all the while showing only moderate cracks herself, cracks which form a unique smile from below the date and curling up into each field surrounding Liberty. These "smile" cracks are easily identifiable and unique to this obverse die.
So where does the B-30, BB-116 fall in the Black Widow's orgy of husbandry? Well, sort of in the middle, but curiously and I feel importantly, the following variety mated to this husband devouring wife was the B-33, BB-117 variety, a die pairing which is represented by a mere 3 examples today, the rarest Heraldic Eagle dollar die marriage! The B-33, BB-117 reverse die failed quickly, all three known examples show a bisecting crack, two show the crack very heavy with the die clearly separating into two separate plains. It is likely that 80-100 were struck originally, but only 3 survived to today, which is the approximate survival ratio for Bust Dollars from the original mintages reported. Clearly that reverse die marriage didn't "work out" as planned, and a new reverse die was needed to continue coinage.
When thinking this copper fragment and the fact that the following die marriage failed so quickly, could it be possible that once the coiner determined that the prior reverse die needed replacing on the B-30, BB-116 marriage that the reverse die was set aside for "supervisory condemnation"? Next the coiner went to the die vault in the next door building off Sugar Alley. After returning with the only reverse dollar die available and placing it the coining press to commence coining--the massive bisecting crack formed on that reverse. Okay, hang in there, now the coiner has yet another broken reverse die, the one in the press at this moment is the B-33, BB-117 variety. The 100 or so coins produced all show a dramatic and fatal die crack spanning the reverse. The coiner has orders to coin many more dollars today--yet knows there are no more reverse dies in the vault. The supervisor comes by and says why aren't you coining dollars?
The coiner grabs a freshly minted B-33, BB-117 from the basket (can I have another one too?), despite the blazing lustre and warmth from the coining process, the dramatic die crack across the reverse can't be missed, even by the supervisor. Okay he says, what else have you to work with? The prior batch of B-30,BB-116 dollars are off to the counting room where the bean counters are having their way with them. The coiner removes the anvil reverse die with the terminal crack and places the old B-30, BB-116 back into the press, looks around and finds a piece of scrap copper on the ground. The coiner places the fragment on the anvil die and gives the screw press a mighty turn. The copper is crushed between the dies, but is retrieved by the coiner who presents the fragment to the supervisor. It was hot from the coining process, blazing bright red and yet the obvious multitude of cracks were seen on the reverse, the obverse with the "smiling cracks" while the reverse shows something on the order of 20 separate die cracks, one of the largest forming a unique oval shape through the right wing, another splitting the shield like a spear.
The supervisor tosses the struck copper fragment back to the coiner and says, okay, both reverse dies are shot, go get another--I looked--go look again. Off goes the coiner to the building with the hot fragment in hand, after leaving the building he walks into the alley toward the die vault building. In disgust he hurls the copper fragment--a fragment made to be thrown into the air like a skipping stone--it lands in a weedy patch of dirt, forgotten. No new die is found in the vault, meanwhile the engraver hastily prepares the next reverse for the Black Widow obverse to devour--the B-28, BB-118 die pairing. Silver dollar coinage will have to wait for the engraver to finish the reverse die and harden it.
Wishing for a journey like that from the "Time Machine" by Jules Verne, this fragment has come forward to our present day to leave clues but tell no complete tale. If only we could travel back and watch this day unfold to know how it came about. Perhaps ask why there are no others like it? I have speculated how this came to us, based on what I have before me, a curious fragment completely and utterly like no other known from the early years in the Philadelphia Mint.
Portions are not struck at all, beyond the reach of the dies, where the dentils stretch but leave off--double the thickness of the struck portion, testifying to the strength of the strike of the fragment hit by the dies. Perhaps it was an idle moment at the Mint where a small piece of scrap was struck just to see what would happen, any number of threads can be woven. Without question, this is one of the most unusual and historic pieces of early Mint history to pass through these doors, and needless to say, a lot of history has crossed this threshold. We hope this fragment goes to a collector who appreciates its significance as the only struck metal fragment known from the early Philadelphia Mint.
The catalogue should be going to the printer shortly and will be out in a few weeks, the copper fragment will be available for viewing as stated in the catalogue.
Any questions can be directed to me at jimm@stacks.com
Always took candy from strangers
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
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