George Washington "Born in Virginia/General of the Armies" Token

JKT · July 29, 2016 7:48AM

Many thanks to those who've provided thoughts/information regarding the "Liberty & Security" penny I posted earlier today. This George Washington "Born in Virginia/General of the Armies" example belongs to a friend/neighbor and fellow collector who asked me to take some pics and post them here.

I knew absolutely nothing about this issue until he picked it up, but after some brief research it appears to be a very scarce and sought after issue.

Any thoughts/comments/additional information is welcomed. Thank you all again! The wealth of information on this forum never ceases to amaze me.

DaveWcoins · July 29, 2016 7:51AM

I've owned a few of these over the years. It might just be the lighting, but I have suspicions that the item might be a cast copy.

If you can't have someone knowledgeable locally take a look at it, I strongly recommend you send it in to PCGS for grading and authentication.

cardinal · July 29, 2016 8:16AM

This is my specimen graded by PCGS, Ex:Newcomer-Green-Picker-Terranova, for comparison:

DaveWcoins · July 29, 2016 8:49AM

Originally posted by: cardinal

This is my specimen graded by PCGS, Ex:Newcomer-Green-Picker-Terranova, for comparison:

Ah - so you bought that coin, Cardinal. I've always loved it. It is a freak of nature!

johnny9434 · July 30, 2016 1:09AM

im glad hes not here today to see what carp we have going on in politics. enough said here.

Insider2 · July 30, 2016 4:25AM

I agree, the piece does not look authentic in the photo.

ricko · July 30, 2016 4:57AM

That is an amazing specimen Cardinal.... Cheers, RickO

Spudmasher · July 30, 2016 11:45AM

I was the lucky one to find this token and so many hundreds of coins over the years from our local B&M dealer Joe Gallo who initially set up shop on King St. In Alexandria, VA in the mid 60's. It will be a very sad day when he leaves the business because for all that know him he was an asset to the hobby and still is to this day.

The coin shown above was in one of several boxes of misc that he is now clearing out to go out of business. The piece is a large improvement over what it was. Laquer completely covered the piece both sides. I did a quick dip in acetone to show what it looks like as of know. Just a few of the other pieces gathered on a Friday morning were a 1909 half with liberty punched through marvelous piece. Also a 1864 GREAT CENTRAL FAIR PHILADELPHIA token dated June 1864. Nice XF silver. Google that piece for a learning experience. Another piece recently purchased and submitted to PC is 80884804. Hopefully KEETS Will see and enjoy this. Purchased on April Fools day only not a joke. $20.00. Lots less than the grading fees, postage etc.

The Washington token will eventually end up in Newport Beach assuming it is the real thing.

Insider2 · July 30, 2016 2:36PM

Gallo was one of my mentors. He sure had some interesting pieces come into his hands. As I remember, almost everyone came around to sell him stuff. Dealers like AL J. were allowed to look through rolls of Morgan dollars in his safe. I can remember what a big deal it was to lean over the front case opposite his desk and be able to read even the bold headline on the CDN or see all the interesting Newps piled on his desk. Joe was/probably still is a character. He was to Arlington what Harry Foreman was to Philly and that's saying it all.

George Washington "Born in Virginia/General of the Armies" Token

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