(c.1838) 3C GW-152 Copper Atwood's Railroad Hotel, BN MS(PCGS#759505)

November 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4354

等级

MS62BN

价格

25,179

详细说明

Choice Atwood’s Railroad Hotel Token A Classic Hard Times Rarity Circa 1838 Atwood's Railroad Hotel store card by Bale and Smith. Musante GW-152, Baker-510A. Copper. Reeded edge. MS-62 (PCGS). 25.2 mm. 66.8 grains. A really lovely specimen of this classic rarity of the Hard Times era. Attractive olive brown with some light mahogany and deep chestnut brown accents around the obverse design features and through much of the reverse. Lustrous and beautifully struck with sharp details at Washington’s head and leg, as well as the central legends of the reverse which are frequently weak. Only a couple of trivial nicks may be seen under magnification, while a couple of small depressions behind Washington are small natural planchet flakes, or similar, and as made. Struck on a somewhat compact flan but the dentils are present all around, even if of uneven length. The Atwood’s token has long been considered a classic rarity, enough so that it takes up valuable plate space in an early 20th-century auction sale by the Chapmans. In recent years, there has seemingly been a flurry of appearances, which is due mostly to the dispersal of two small “hoards” of them, assembled by particularly astute numismatists. John Ford had 10 of this variety which we sold a few years ago, and Q. David Bowers bought several of them, adding to whatever he already owned. He has now been selling from his reference collection and has reintroduced several pieces. Once these are absorbed by other collectors, however, the situation is likely to revert back to that of the "old days” when a nice Atwood’s was very tough to find. Provenance: From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. PCGS# 759505.