A little prematurely but here is my latest old damaged 1795 FH $1 plugged piece. Pics by MessDesk.

afford

And yes the initials are A.F.B. and I still cannot come up with anyone:(

Bigbuck1975

Purty

RogerB

Nice coin! Is this the coin with initials you asked about in a previous thread?

Zoins

I was thinking the A stood for Al but don't know about the rest.

Looks like you have a new collecting focus. Congrats

grip

Are you sure that's a plug?

Wabbit2313

Coin is cool. Not a fan of the graffiti.

CaptHenway

Check the descendants of Elias Boudinot, who became Director of the Mint in 1795.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Boudinot

Probably not the sister Annis, as she had a different last initial by then, but perhaps a grandchild through one of his daughters who married a Bradford.

Jimnight

Nice!

CaptHenway

Well, this line does not look good. Here is the biography of Boudinot's son-in-law, William Bradford.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bradford_(Attorney_General)

CaptHenway

This line of enquiry. Elias's daughter Susan did not (apparently) have a child with the initials A F.

Treashunt

Great pick up!
Thanks for showing

KellenCoin

While graffiti does lower the value of the coin, I think it is actually a much cooler piece than your standard dollar. It stands out and there is an additional cool story.

Justacommeman

Very cool piece

m

Treashunt

@afford said:

@KellenCoin said:
While graffiti does lower the value of the coin, I think it is actually a much cooler piece than your standard dollar. It stands out and there is an additional cool story.

Totally agree but we are definitely in the minority. Unfortunately most probably believe it is damaged and would rather own one that is undamaged. Given the choice, I went with what I believed the more interesting piece. I have never seen a plug that is so distinct and if you want a silver plug what better but one that is quite evident coupled with the quality field engraving and you have a winner. However let me repeat I realize most would disagree.

Then there are 3 of us, I love the piece.

23Pairer

Sure is's not A.B.F.? Depending for whom the monogramming was done, could be either way! Just adding more detective work!

themonogrammerchant.com/pages/initial-etiquette

Crypto

I can’t believe such a great coin went all these years without being repaired. Glad it wasn’t

One of the best plugs I have ever seen. Maybe it was pulled out for not conforming and then engraved

jayPem

Incredibly cool piece
I'm solidly in the camp of those who like these kind of coins best...in fact exclusively

RogerB

There are experts at the Smithsonian and other large museums who can help. I don't have any specific contacts, but look for jewelry/silverware etc.

BustDMs

I’d knock the plug out and wear it as a necklace

Walkerfan

It's really cool and in remarkable condition despite the engraving and the plug.

It has nice color, too.

Put me in the 'like it' column.

There's a lot of history there.....

Regulated

@afford said:

@Zoins said:
I was thinking the A stood for Al but don't know about the rest.

Looks like you have a new collecting focus. Congrats

I just love history & coins, what better way to combine them imho than find one that is cool looking, with a mystery attached. Now what caretaker would take a true rarity, with an outrageous plug and get it professionally engraved only in the obv field. And why on a silver plugged 1795 when he/she could have done it on an unplugged example which would have been easier to acquire? I am trying to figure all this out.
Not really into my own initials on a coin, rather have a noted past numismatist/collector or famous person. But I will keep digging.

I really love this piece. If I had to hazard a guess, AFB would probably not have been a collector in the sense that we use the word today, and chances are, the piece was engraved and given to them as a gift, much like may love tokens of the era. Secondly, plugged 1795 Dollars have only been considered desirable/rare for the last 40 years or so. While I'm sure that plugs were noticed by people earlier than the 1970s, they don't seem to have raised very much interest.

That plug is definitely one of the most dramatic that I can recall seeing.

NumisOxide

Awesome piece for sure!

savitale

I'd guess not a collector. Except for Dexter, I don't recall it being a thing for coin collectors to mark their coins, certainly not to this extent. Maybe a birthday present to A.F.B. born in 1795?

HoledandCreative

I have never seen a plug so crude in one of these. Were the plugs at the time just a space filler for a hollowed area? I have always thought the coins were holed then plugged, all done at the mint. I see no sign of a plugged hole on reverse. My coin has both sides showing signs of a plug. Mine is a 3 leaf variety, maybe the difference. My coin is a plugged silver plug and looks pathetic compared to yours.

HoledandCreative

HoledandCreative

No idea how many others. I've always wondered who "IWH" or JWH" was. I know, another needle in the haystack. Do you think something might have been removed from the left side obverse? From the picture, maybe some graffiti. If so, maybe some letters could be a little legible. Probably lighting, my mind runs wild sometimes.

1TwoBits

Nice early dollar! I have several that are also engraved or counterstamped and find them quite interesting.

1TwoBits

ricko

@afford.... I do not recall seeing a plugged coin that was not 'all the way through'... Admittedly, I have not studied this sector of numismatics, however, my impression was that a plug 'filled a hole' and not a depression. Obviously, I need to learn more. Cheers, RickO

LoveMyLiberty

I spent some time looking through Heritage's site for
1795 coins & silver plugs. Bowers listed 5 die marriages
that had plugs. There are a number of them that don't
show, only show on one side, or are of different sizes.
The mint, after determining a planchet was light weight,
produced a silver plug, made a hole the required size &
depth, then inserted the plug. It was then put through
the press, re weighed & if needed adjustment marks were
made.
I also saw a few with engraving & counterstamps.

CaptHenway

The fact that the center plug does not show on the reverse does not concern me. I believe that it is an original mint-made plug.

CaptHenway

A few thoughts:

No collector would do this to a coin in his or her collection.

This was a gift presented to the person with those initials. It may have been a newborn child, or it may have been an older child or an adult celebrating an important milestone in life. The recipients may or may not have been related to the giver. Without a document we know nothing about the recipient.

It is a fine collectible that I would be proud to own for what it is.

TD

asheland

I love that monogram, totally correct engraving for the period.

carabonnair

Thanks for sharing this wonderful acquisition.

To me, it looks as though the engraver might have accentuated the center plug. Also consider that the coin survives in its present excellent condition in a large part because of the initials. They could be the reason it was saved as a memento instead of being worn out in commerce or melted as bullion.

I like that the engraving was very nicely done, and apart from the plug avoids the major design elements.

messydesk

The distinctly outlined plug may be a side-effect of the coin having been heated to facilitate the engraving. The right half of the obverse shows some heat damage, which may have popped the seam between the plug and the rest of the planchet, giving the appearance of having been accentuated. If you look at the coin closely, you can see traces of jeweler's rouge in the initials and around the plug, possibly to smooth down the burrs from the engraving. You also can see an irregular margin on the plug. These closeups are on the NNP here.

topstuf

Was there ever an Augustus Faint Baudens in the early days?

topstuf

I can still remember back in the early 90s being smitten (smote?) with a seated dollar with VERY cool engraving pertaining to the Civil War. Kinda wish I had gotten it.