(1834) Token HT-26 Brass William Seward MS(PCGS#77771)

August 2019 ANA U.S. Coins Auction Rosemont, IL

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

246

等级

MS65

价格

27,105

详细说明

Undated (1834) William Seward. HT-26, Low-13, DeWitt-CE 1834-8, W-10-120b. Rarity-4. Brass. Plain Edge. 27 mm. MS-65 (PCGS). Coin alignment. This is a simply beautiful piece, the finest that we have ever offered for the type. Bright brassy-gold surfaces are satiny in texture with appreciable semi-prooflike flash evident around the peripheries. The strike is trivially off center to 6 o'clock on the reverse, the lower border on that side devoid of denticulation, but the legend complete. The obverse is well centered, and both sides are boldly struck apart from softness in the centers at Seward's cheek, coat and the eagle's breast. The surfaces are smooth and attractive with only a few faint carbon flecks in the obverse field precluding an even higher grade. While a few Mint State examples of this type are known, no others that we are familiar with can compare to this fabulous Gem. Superior to both the primary Ford specimen and the Dice-Hicks piece, this example would serve as a highlight in the finest specialized collection. An interesting fact about this type is that the letter V in GOVnr in the obverse legend is actually an inverted A, complete with crossbar. The New York State elections in 1834 furnished further subjects for several varieties of Hard Times tokens. None are more curious than those depicting William H. Seward and Gulian C. Verplanck as offered here. The Whig convention to nominate candidates for state governor and lieutenant governor opened in Utica on September 10. In the several preceding months there was speculation as to who would be chosen. During this time brass tokens were issued depicting William H. Seward and Gulian C. Verplanck. It seems that the engraver had no likeness of Verplanck, so he used Seward's portrait on both! In an era before prints were widely used in newspapers, many recipients of the tokens probably didn't know the difference. When final balloting took place in Utica, Seward was the landslide winner with 119 delegate votes, trailed at a long distance by 1 for James Kent, 1 for Peter R. Livingston, and 1 for Verplanck. In November, Seward lost to the incumbent, Governor William L. Marcy, a Democrat and staunch supporter of Jackson. As Verplanck's fame as a Whig political candidate was fleeting, while that of Seward endured, his tokens were issued for just a short time, while Seward's were made in several varieties and for a longer time. Provenance: Ex Dorge, March 19, 1973; Stephen L. Tanenbaum estate, November 2013. Collector tag with attribution and provenance notes included. Click here for certification details from PCGS.