NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: MARCH 27, 2022

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 25, Number 13, March 27, 2022, Article 21

Here's a selection of interesting or unusual items I came across in the marketplace this week. Tell us what you think of some of these. -Editor

CEYLON: AE token, ND (1881), Prid-96, Lowsley-35, George Steuart & Co. Wekande Mills coffee token, featuring two women at work; one filling a sack inscribed GS&C, a superb quality example! PCGS graded MS65 RB. This token were issued in 1881 for the firm of George Steuart & Co. merchants, bankers, estate and commission agents, which was started in 1835. This type token was designed by the manager, Mr Charles Hendry and circulated at the value of 19 cents at the time. This was probably the last Coffee token issued and the only token recorded that bear inscriptions in native scripts, although neither are correct, in Sinhala and Tamil.

CEYLON: AE token, ND (1881), PCGS MS65 RB This one is from the Stephen Album Internet Auction 15, closing April 11. -Editor

To read the complete lot description, see:
(https://www.sarc.auction/CEYLON-AE-token-ND-1881-PCGS-MS65-RB_i44676597)

PAN PAC Unique U.S. design and denomination combo makes this a very popular issue. Satiny frost is completely original which earns it a plus and a cac sticker!

I've always been partial to this Pan-Pac quarter eagle design. Great forward-looking eagle, and what's not to love about the hippocampus on the obverse? Found in the stock of Harry Laibstain Rare Coins. -Editor

GERMANY: Third Reich, AR 5 mark, 1933-A, KM-80, J-353, 450th Anniversary of Martin Luther's Birth, a wonderful mint state example! PCGS graded MS64.

I also enjoy the Gothic lettering style of the pre-WWII German issues. This one is also from the Stephen Album Internet Auction 15. -Editor

To read the complete lot description, see:
GERMANY: AR 5 mark, 1933-A, PCGS MS64 (https://www.sarc.auction/GERMANY-AR-5-mark-1933-A-PCGS-MS64_i44676703)

Paul Revere Sesquicentennial Medal Pamphlet

Octavo, 8 inches high by 5-3/4 inches wide. Softcover, a 4-page circular titled with illustrations of the medal in black & white on the cover page. The brochure is folded in half horizontally and the date "6 April 1925" is penciled in an early hand at the end of the last paragraph. Very good. RARE. Issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Paul Revere's historic ride, the "Medal Commemorating the Paul Revere Sesqui-Centennial" designed by Anthony de Francisci was surrounded by controversy.

Issued after J. Sanford Saltus' death, sales of the medal were disappointing. Having been unable to obtain use of Copley's famous portrait, the images on the medal depicted Revere in his advanced years. Although Revere was only standing next to his horse on the verso, awaiting his signal, it led to criticism as he appeared ready to mount his horse from the wrong side.

There is also question as to whether the medal was cast or struck. According to the circular at hand, "At his [Francisci's] suggestion, a radical departure in the form of our medal was agreed upon - the rounded edge - an element which contributes in no small degree to the attractiveness of the result.

It is also of interest that the reverse was first modeled in the exact size of the medal itself. It was then enlarged and again reduced after having been retouched, this course having been taken to eliminate the pantographic effect of the reducing machine. The obverse was modeled on a scale of only three diameters." [Quoted from the last page].

Interesting numismatic ephemera. Alas, it has already been sold (and not to me - I discovered this too late). -Editor