Problem Child #1: 1794 Franklin Press Token

Daltonista

Hi, all ~

Here's a piece I picked up for a buck from a dealer's junk box at a show I attended back in the mid-1980's. It was clearly marked "COPY" on the flip, although not on the token itself, so I went into this with eyes wide open, picking it up as a curiosity for my Conder collection. (It is, after all, Middlesex D&H 307a.)

Now that I'm retired and getting ready to re-establish my presence as a seller on eBay in order to liquidate several non-core collections, I'd like to be able to nail down with more precision what kind of copy it is, and whether it can be attributed to a particular maker, or perhaps to a particular era.

The granularity and lamination effects noticeable in the flan are two key markers, I would think, and there is a faint seam around the edge that looks under 15x magnification as though someone may have attempted to disguise it. I'm guessing it's an electrotype, but I have nowhere near enough background on repros and counterfeits to substantiate that hunch.

Anything you can contribute about this item and its reproductions will be greatly appreciated. I know there's sort of a small market out there for electros of Colonials with certain pedigrees, so any thoughts you might have on market value will of course be helpful as well.

Since the Franklin Press Token has long been regarded as a U.S. Colonial piece (Breen 1165), I'll cross-post this inquiry in the forums on both sides, dark and light.

For comparison purposes, posted below my images will be shots from a current eBay listing, a PCGS-graded AU-55 example.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this!

Best ~
Tom

Daltonista

Oops...forgot to add that it weighs in at 7.74 grams.

farthing

Looks cast to me.

Conder101 still posts ATS - if you have access you might want to send him a message from over there.

Daltonista

Sorry, farthing, but what's ATS?
Tom

CIVITAS

It's a cast copy. The dimples in the fields and the softness of the detail indicate as such.

An electrotype would be of much higher quality and look more like the real thing.

IloiloKano

<< <i>The granularity and lamination effects noticeable in the flan are two key markers, I would think, and there is a faint seam around the edge that looks under 15x magnification as though someone may have attempted to disguise it. >>

I agree with CIVITAS, with additional observation that it could have been cast in two halves & joined, or the mold could have been in two parts that did not fit well, leaving a seam mark that had to be filed down.

farthing

ATS - Across The Street - the NGC chat rooms