A Set of US Coins to Britain – 1796
RogerB
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[Excerpts from a letter dated March 6, 1796 to Samuel Bayard, Esq. from U.S. Mint Director Elias Boudinot.]
“…I lately wrote you by the Factor, Captain Kemp, and sent you bills for the purchase of ten tons of copper, and also a small box with about 18 dollars of our new coin as a matter of curiosity…. The coins I sent you by Capt. Kemp were, an Eagle – half Eagle – two Dollars – two half Dollars – two Dismes – two half Dismes, and two Cents. I design them to go towards paying for the devices commemorative of Mr. Bradford’s Death, at the same time, wishing to shew [sic] you what we are about at the Mint.”
Anyone know where these coins presently reside – or were they spent and lost to history?
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Comments
Good post. Interesting stuff. May have been destroyed or stolen during the Blitz of WW2. A lot can happen in that amount of time.
That would be a great find - if they still exist.....Probably in some Victorian attic in a forgotten trunk. Cheers, RickO
Was this question "rained out" in the past 24 hours?
Wouldn't it be great if these showed up someday in a velvet lined box like the 1804 King of Siam proof set?
No Quarter Eagles because those coins were introduced in the fall of 1796.
Imagine if he had kept the half dollars.
Might also have been 1795-date or a mixture.
Hmmmm....no new ideas? Might be a nice research project. Anyone what to pay my expenses?
Bradford was a name in Britain that has popped up in my research, but I'm drawing a blank as to why - now I'm going to have to dig through my notes.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
The Lord St. Oswald group was mostly 1794-dated, but had two dollars and at least two halves in it.
edited to add - (2) 1794 Dollars, (3) 1795 Dollars, (3) 1795 Half Dollars, (22) 1794 Cents.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
But wasn't "St. Oswald" just a name stuck on a bunch of coins from Britain? I've forgotten the story, now....
It was - so there's an outside chance that some of the coins here COULD have ended up in that group. Also, if the coins were meant to pay for some sort of funeral/memorial arrangements, the absence of some of the coins would make sense. Where's @firstmint?
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
He's over at the sports bar watching the game....
William Bradford (US Attorney General at the time of his death) was Boudinot's son-in-law, and died in 1795. I know I've come across him in coin-related contexts.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
Was Boudinot paying for a medal commemorating William Bradford's life? Do we know of such a medal or other commemorative item. Probably not a painting -- would think that would have been specifically mentioned.
I don't think there's a medal. Perhaps a bust?
"Devices commemorative of Mr. Bradford’s Death" is a bit opaque.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake