BREEN MANUSCRIPT ON THE STEPNEY HOARD

 

Walter Breen Manuscript on the Stepney Hoard

The Stepney, CT hoard of approximately 200 high-grade Connecticut and Vermont coppers and British halfpence was discovered in 1950 and announced to the numismatic community by Walter Breen in the January 1952 Numismatist. Facts regarding the exact location of the find and circumstances of its discovery are scarce, leading to varying opinions – was the hoard a modern concoction, or did it represent a legitimate contemporaneous deposit? In the August 1998 Colonial Newsletter, Phil Mossman concluded that the hoard was indeed closed in 1788.

We recently received a research request for the 1951 Walter Breen manuscript on this topic. At the time, Breen worked for Stack's, who handled the hoard. The Breen manuscript was transcribed and published by Phil Mossman in the afore mentioned Colonial Newsletter. While our researcher was aware of the transcribed copy, good research practice demands examining original documents whenever possible. After some searching, a photocopy of the Breen manuscript was located in the Walter Breen papers at the American Numismatic Society library.

Image: 1787 George III halfpence, Machin's Mills (Vlack 19-87C), from the Stepney hoard. Ex. Newman IX (Heritage Auctions, November 1, 2017), lot 15042, realized $7,800.

Link to Breen manuscript on the Stepney Hoard:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/323

Link to Phil Mossman's related article in the Colonial Newsletter:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/513972

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