1783 (or 1791?) Washington Cent in Gold
MrEureka
Posts: 24,419 ✭✭✭✭✭
For some crazy reason I pulled this off the shelf today and accidentally found this quote within a minute. Does anyone here know anything more about this coin?
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
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That is the first I have heard of a cent struck in gold.....must be more of a medal than a coin since the gold value (unless it was very, very tiny - such a size would be like a flake of gold dust) would far exceed a cent. Cheers, RickO
Did you ask the SMithsonian if they had one?
The regular 1783 Washington Draped Bust Restrike frequently seen in copper and silver does exist in gold, though one hasn't traded publicly anytime in recent memory. I know Anton offered one and TT bought it. Presumably it sold to Larry Stack and later to Syd when that collection was sold.
Coin Rarities Online
From the quote, it seems like the proof gold is a restrike. Is this a correct reading?
Do we know who did the restrikes?
Do we know where the original dies are?
It would seem so, but it's not completely clear. Adding to my confusion is that Breen 1209 is an "unverified" 1791 in gold that he says was mentioned in the Elder Monthly in April, 1907. That could easily have been the coin that Hazlitt mentioned in 1905 as having turned up in a European auction.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
So, the gold cent was just a novelty item? And we do not know where it (they) may be today? Cheers, RickO