QUERY: BRASS CASTORLAND MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT

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V18 2015 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 18, Number 35, August 30, 2015, Article 14

I'd like to thank David Gladfelter for writing the informative article on William Anton, and thanks to Wayne for publishing it. I wrote several letters to William Anton seeking information about the brass Castorland he advertised in the Feb. '05 Numismatist..."$245,000.00 gem proof ex J. H. U." All my letters were returned by USPS as undeliverable. I began then asking around and John Bolger generously sent me offprints of the Bowers & Ruddy Oct. 1-2, 1980 sale of the Garrett Collection that listed it as: "Unique Brass 'Original" Castorland Medal. choice uncirculated, from Mills Collection.", where it sold for $5,750.00. I continued inquiring and when I mentioned it to Jeff Rock he wrote me, "Incidentally, I was offered the piece by Anton for $25,000.00 around 1990. I passed on it then, even though I thought it was quite cool, but at the time that would have bought me a pair of silvers and a copper original!"

So I'm still seeking information on this brass specimen. Maybe Anton sold it long ago. Thanks again for your article, and thanks to John Bolger and Jeff Rock.

In the February 2005 issue of NUMISMATIST (page 63), William Anton offered a 1796 Brass Castorland Half Dollar for $245,000.00, describing it as follows: "Unique, struck in brass and probably the finest Castorland struck. Gem Proof. Ex. J.H.U."

PCGS MS-64. Ex - Paul Arthur Norris (purchased privately) - Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc.'s "Pre-Long Beach Sale", September 23 & 24, 2002, Lot 89, illustrated, where it was described as follows: "Original unbroken die. PCGS graded MS-64. A rare original example of this medal, that approaches gem! The surfaces display a delicate pinkish hue over silvery gray tones atop the mirror fields. Boldly struck on both sides, without any signs of weakness on the high points of the devices. These were struck at the Paris Mint, and were made to circulate in the new French colony being formed in upper New York, along the Beaver River. As the political climate changed dramatically with the French Revolution in 1792, those who had been in power or sympathetic to the Royals feared for their safety. The Reign of Terror began, and many aristocrats were hung or jailed. Those that could moved away, and some signed on to move to the new French American colony.

The legend FRANCO AMERICANA COLONIA translates to "French American Colony", with the central head device that depicts a women with a veil, and an unusual crown which appears like the crenelated tower from a castle. The French word "Castor", translates to "beaver", hence the colony became known as Castorland. Hence, the beaver motif on the bottom of the reverse, with the maple tree above, next to which stands the Goddess Ceres, patroness of agriculture, with a drill in one hand (to free the maple sap from the tree), and the open tap in the tree below, with the sap flowing freely, and a cornucopia in the other hand symbolizing the hoped for success in agriculture from the new colony. The Latin motto SALVE MAGNA PARENS FRUGUM, means "Hail, great mother of crops" (Breen), and is from Virgil's Georgics.

Epidemics and severe winters plagued those hearty souls in the first years of the new colony, and in short order most of the original inhabitants of Beavertown had either died or moved away, and within a few more years nothing remained of the colony except the original name. Most of the coins that arrived with the colonists were well circulated during these times, and few are found in mint condition, as we see here.

Here is a color image of Anton’s brass coin from the Garrett III catalog (it’s lot 1522 and it’s one of those tiddlywinked images as you see). Garrett had four so-called “original” Castorlands (lots 1519-1522, all plated in the catalog) and one so-called “restrike” from original dies (lot 1523, not plated).

Readers may be aware of some fairly recent scholarship on the Castorland settlement: Edith Pilcher, Castorland: French Refugees in the Western Adirondacks, 1793-1814 (Harrison, N.Y., Harbor Hill Books, 1985), and Angel Pietri, “The History of the Castorland Settlement,” The C4 Newsletter vol. 5 #1 pp. 15-29 (Spring 1997).

Both of these references are listed by Q. David Bowers in the bibliography of his 2009 book, Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins. Edith Pilcher is a freelance writer specializing in Adirondack and travel topics; her publisher specializes in the local history of New York State. Angel O. Pietri, M.D., was president of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club from 1994 to 1996, and was motivated to dig into Castorland history after bidding on Louis Eliasberg’s specimen of the Castorland medal and reading Ms. Pilcher’s book.

As noted in a previous article, Chester Sullivan is working on a survey of the Castorland medals and would like to hear from anyone who owns one. So far he has recorded 47 silver specimens, 30 in copper or bronze, and the one brass specimen. Please contact him at csull@ku.edu . -Editor

To read CoinFacts article, see:
Castorland Jetons (www.coinfacts.com/colonial_coins/castorland/castorland_jetons.htm)

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