Here are a few items that caught my eye in Jeff Rock's Rosa Americana Colonial Coins fixed price list #23. To get your copy, contact Jeff at
rosaamltd@gmail.com.
-Editor
Counterstamped St. Patrick's Farthing
2. Undated (ca. 1652-1674) St. Patrick Farthing. Martin 1b.6-Ca.10, W-11500. Low Rarity-7. Copper. Nothing Below King. Choice Very Fine, a well struck and pleasing example of this
VERY RARE variety, rated a Low Rarity-7 in Syd Martin's book on the series. The obverse has
been boldly counterstamped IC in individual letter punches, and thus may be traceable to a
silversmith, pewter maker, or someone in a similar occupation.
The coin itself is quite nice, the
legends full and bold on either side, the design details strong save for St. Patrick's face which is
directly opposite the I of the countermark and was slightly weakened by it. There is a bold
golden splash at the crown, and the planchet is a pleasing light tan, with surfaces that are mostly
hard and very pleasing to the eye.
A very rare variety, we have only been able to locate three
auction records, including this exact coin which was in Stack's Bowers November 2019 C4
auction.
In that sale the cataloguer noted that
According to Sydney F. Martin in the excellent
reference Saint Patrick Coinage (2018), counterstamps are rarely encountered on St. Patrick
coinage, always on farthings, never on halfpennies. When encountered, these counterstamps are
usually ‘crude initials struck from individual letter punches,' as here. This particular IC
counterstamp is not pictured in the Martin reference, and it is also unlisted in the Brunk
reference, so its meaning and purpose can only be surmised. An intriguing piece, and clearly
worthy of additional study.
As colonial specialists know, there was very little that escaped Syd
Martin's attention in the areas he was writing about, so to have an attractive example of an
oddball piece that Syd did not know about certainly speaks volumes about its rarity. This is an
example that should have been in Syd's collection – and should have been sold to him by Clem
Schettino, but sadly both those gentlemen passed away prior to that occurring. We are offering it
here on behalf of the Schettino family, and the coin comes in Clem's distinct handwritten
envelope with his name and address stamp on the back flap. Really a pleasing piece, high grade,
great color, a bold splasher, made even more intriguing by the extremely rare countermark – and
all that for a fraction of the price these sold for just five years ago..........$650
For many years I collected U.S. Merchant Counterstamps by the undertype - assembling an interesting type coin collection. I didn't have many counterstamped colonials, and this would have made a fine addition to that group.
-Editor
1722 Rosa Americana Penny
4. 1722 Rosa Americana Penny. Martin 2-A.1, W-1256, the VTILE DVLCI reverse.
Rarity-6. ICG graded EF45, an accurate grade in our opinion. This example appeared as Lot
5015 in the Stack's Bowers 2016 C4 sale, where it was ably catalogued as follows:
1722 Rosa Americana Penny. Martin 2.1-A.1, W-1256. Rarity-5. VTILE DVLCI. EF-45
(ICG). 118.9 grains. This sharply struck Rosa Americana penny offers crisp detail to both the
obverse portrait and the reverse rose. It is boldly toned in a blend of deep steely-copper and
lighter antique gold. Areas of porosity are evident on the obverse at King George's face and on
the reverse around the word VTILE, but otherwise this piece appears fairly smooth. As a rule,
not an exception, bath metal coins show some porosity -- a characteristic of the metal itself. This
is a scarce Guide Book variety with Vs in place of Us in the reverse legend.
Provenance: From the Carolina Colonial Coin Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) sale of the
John L. Roper, 2nd Collection of Colonial & Early American Coins, December 1983, lot 81; our
(Bowers and Merena's) Montgomery Collection sale, May 1998, lot 66. Bowers and Merena lot
tag included.
The Roper collection is rightly famous for the quality of the coins it contained, and the excellent
job of cataloguing, one of the indispensable sales in a colonial library – though it was sold at the
absolute low point of the coin market so the prices realized list looks more like wishful thinking
today! Those coins were quickly absorbed into some of the finest collections, and few have
reentered the marketplace. This rare type, the only obverse die to have V's in the legend instead
of U's, is always popular – we note that a VF20 sold in the 2012 C4 sale for $3,220. This
example, 25 points higher and with a provenance to one of the key collections of the modern era
is a bargain at just..........$1,400
French Colonies 30 Deniers
14. 1710-D [Lyon Min] French Colonies 30 Deniers. Vlack-2, W-11710. Rarity-2 About
Uncirculated, very nearly in the Choice category. Light rub on the high points of either side,
but with a fair amount of luster under the gunmetal gray toning. Boldly struck, with all the
legends and design details as crisp as when the coin dropped from the dies. There is a crescent
shaped diebreak below the first X of the denomination on the reverse, but no real marks from
actual circulation.
This is a rare issue to find in high grades as they were intended to circulate,
not sit in collector's cabinets. Struck on new planchets and with new designs, these were soon
named mousquetaires due to the resemblance of the cross design on the reverse to the emblem
of the royal musketeers. Struck at only two mints, Lyon and Metz, from 1709-1713 only. and
in just two denominations of 15 and 30 deniers, this was the first billon issue struck specifically
for France's North American colonies. They were over-valued in terms of metal content, only
slightly heavier than the Recoined Sols which were valued at only 15 deniers, half the value of
the new coin. This was purposely done, to insure that most stayed in North America and other
French colonies, since no French merchant would accept them back at that valuation.
Bob
Vlack estimates that this coinage stayed in circulation for at least a century, and given the
average grade of most survivors today this is not unreasonable; Vlack notes some of the
fluctuations in valuation of this coin, which soared to 36 deniers at the height of the Mississippi
Bubble speculations in 1720 – at this valuations, much of the original mintage likely returned to
France for melting. By the time the Sous Marques billon coinage started in 1738 these earlier
30 deniers had fallen to just 18 deniers, essentially the value of their metal at that point.
Listed
in both the Whitman Encyclopedia and the Redbook, this is a French Colonies type that every
colonial collection should include! This very pleasing AU specimen is priced well under the
Redbook valuation for an average AU at only.........$400
Great example of an important piece of American numismatic history.
-Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ROSA AMERICANA COLONIAL COINS PRICE LIST #23
(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n26a16.html)
THE BOOK BAZARRE
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS: Are your books carried by Wizard Coin Supply? If not, contact us via www.WizardCoinSupply.com with details.
Wayne Homren, Editor
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