1776 $1 CURENCY, Brass MS(PCGS#792)

August 2021 ANA U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4001

等级

XF40

价格

777,413

详细说明

Exceedingly Rare Newman-1-B Continental Dollar in Brass Only 12 Known The Roper Specimen 1776 Continental Dollar. Newman 1-B, W-8440. Rarity-7. CURENCY. Brass. EF-40 (PCGS). OGH. A handsome and highly desirable example of this exceptionally rare variant of the classic Continental dollar. The surfaces are pleasing brassy tan-gold with rich olive overtones on both sides. The brass alloy has fared quite well over the centuries, being mostly smooth with some minor patches of graininess noted on the obverse around the letters IT in CONTINENTAL, in the area immediately above the sundial, and between the two circular rings inside the letters CY in CURENCY. A few minor, very faint and toned over pin scratches from the sundial upward to the outer ring are the only accidental surface marks worthy of mention. None of these features are distracting in hand, and they serve as useful provenance markers. The strike is remarkably bold for the type, which is often soft in the centers. Indeed, this piece exhibits the usual softness of detail in the horizontal lines flanking the sundial and, to a lesser extent, on the words WE ARE ONE on the reverse, but the definition on the radiant sun is fuller than found on many higher grade brass specimens. Several of the letters in the various states' names on the reverse are clearly repunched, although this feature is obscured somewhat due to a close, shift double strike of that side which is most severe at the GEORGIA ring and least severe at N. JERSEY. These extremes in severity of double striking at opposing points along the circumference suggest a reverse die that was loose and that pivoted during the striking process, with a pivot point along the border near N. JERSEY. The Continental dollar is an enigmatic type for which no specific documentation detailing its origin has ever been found. It was popularly theorized that the Continental Congress intended the pewter pieces to serve in lieu of the $1 note beginning in the latter half of 1776. Although the authors of early publications obviously believed that the Continental dollars were coins of American manufacture, no documentary evidence was provided to substantiate this claim. Recent research and a two-part article by Erik Goldstein and David McCarthy entitled "The Myth of the Continental Dollar" published in the January and July 2018 editions of The Numismatistchallenge the long accepted theories surrounding these coins. They discovered that a long string of early Americans - people who were actually in a position to provide concrete facts about these pieces - went on the record to mention that they had never seen or heard of such a thing as a Continental dollar coin. Goldstein and McCarthy also point out that the two best known American-reference medals of 1783 were initially sold with what the French called an "explication," a simple handbill or flyer explaining the designs and where they came from. The Libertas Americana medal was sold with one. Betts-610, the usually pewter medal coined to celebrate the Treaty of Paris, was also sold with one. And so, too, was the Continental dollar, furthering the argument for a production date of 1783, not 1776. That the Continental dollar may have been intended as a medal and not a coin, and that it could have been struck in London in 1783 instead of an unknown American location (New York City?) in 1776 as the Goldstein-McCarthy research suggests, changes very little in the scheme of things. The Libertas Americana medal was coined in Paris but is consistently rated as among the most desirable American numismatic collectibles; the Continental dollar should not forfeit a similar place in the hearts of American collectors. The pewter examples remain scarce, and all are historic, highly desirable and valuable. The brass specimens are on another level entirely - even more enigmatic and far rarer than their pewter counterparts. Starting with a global approach to the series, Continental dollars can be divided into two main groups. The first includes the CURENCY and CURRENCY varieties (Newman 1-A, 1-B, 1-C and 2-B). The second group includes the EG FECIT, CURRENCEY and floriated cross varieties (Newman 3-D, 4-D and 5-D). The first group is of interest to us here, since it includes the offered example. Research by Michael Hodder confirms that the first variety of Continental dollar produced is Newman 1-A in brass, with the CURENCY misspelling on the obverse and the rings on the reverse as dotted lines. These are of similar rarity to the present example with only 12 to 15 pieces known. The reverse die was then modified with the 13 intertwined dotted rings strengthened so that they now appear as unbroken lines, although many of the former dots are still visible within each ring. This change in reverse style created the variety now attributed as Newman 1-B, of which examples were struck in both brass (offered here) and pewter. Based on his study of die states, Michael Hodder confirmed that the initial press run comprised brass pieces, followed by some in pewter, with a final run of additional brass examples. Both compositions are rare, Newman 1-B in brass with only 12 specimens confirmed and Newman 1-B in pewter with only about half a dozen known. All are known from only a perfect, unbroken state of the obverse die, as is Newman 1-A. The reverse was then modified again, through heavy lapping and reworking of the rings so that they are now circles composed of thick lines. Paired to the same obverse, this further modified reverse produced the usually seen (though by no means common) Newman 1-C CURENCY pieces in pewter, later die state examples with a prominent obverse break over the letters GI in FUGIO. Two silver impressions of Newman 1-C are also known, ex Garrett and ex Don Corrado Romano Collection sale (see below for further discussion on these precious metal pieces). The aforementioned obverse break eventually forced that die's retirement and its replacement with the CURRENCY die, the new marriage resulting in the Newman 2-C pieces, which are known only in pewter. An understanding of the die emission sequence for the first group of Continental dollars provides a foundation on which to base a theory on why a limited number of brass striking were produced. As above, all known brass Continental dollars were struck early in the emission sequence for the first group and, based on the number of pieces extant, they were struck in very limited numbers. They were also struck at a time in the emission sequence when the reverse die was in a constant state of modification. When we further consider that the 12 known examples of Newman 1-B in brass include both thick and thin planchet strikings, a theory that these pieces were patterns or, more accurately, experimental strikings for the more extensive Newman 1-C variety in pewter begins to take shape. This could have been intended, or it could have been an unforeseen consequence of the experimentation process. Perhaps the intent was to use brass planchets for most, if not all Continental dollars, as initiated with the Newman 1-A pieces, but throughout continued modifications of the reverse die and changes in the planchet composition and thickness pewter emerged as the more suitable composition. Or maybe brass was intentionally used early on in the process to make sure the dies were fit for a larger production run in a different composition (ultimately in pewter, intended or otherwise) that would result in pieces for actual distribution. The fact that we will never know the original intent of these pieces doesn't detract from a pattern or experimental theory for these rare brass strikings. Indeed, further evidence can be found for the experimental nature of these brass pieces. For one, and as already stated above, all known examples in this composition were produced early in the emission sequence for the first group of Continental dollars. Although both Breen and Newman alluded to brass strikings from the second group - specifically Breen-1094, Newman 3-D, W-8465 of the EG FECIT type - the 2020 edition of the Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coinsreports that these pieces are "Believed to be unknown." The experimental phase resolved early in the group one emission sequence, there was no need to revert to brass planchets when the dies for the second group were introduced. Additionally, the absence of commentary on brass strikings in the contemporary documents researched and presented in the Goldstein-McCarthy study argues strongly for the experimental nature of these pieces. The pewter pieces were the metallic composition that was widely distributed at the time, as they are the pieces known to contemporary sources such as London scholar Sarah Sophia Banks and early American numismatist Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere. Conversely, the brass impressions - rare in their own time, as they are today - were almost certainly known initially only to the handful of people involved in the earliest stages of production for these pieces. Finally, the brass strikings must be considered separately from their even rarer silver counterparts, two of which are known from both the first and second groups (Newman 1-C, W-8450 and Newman 3-D, W-8470, respectively), for a total of four. In the case of the Newman 1-C silver pieces from the first group, mentioned above, both the Garrett and Corrado Romano Collection specimens were struck from a later obverse die state than the brass pieces, as evidenced by the prominent break above the letters GI in FUGIO. Since some Newman 1-C pieces in pewter were struck from an early state than the silver pieces, and some are in a later state with an even more advanced break, the silver pieces from these dies were clearly struck during the Newman 1-C pewter press run and were probably created with the intent of making a few precious metal pieces, perhaps for special distribution. Opinions about Continental dollars as a group differ, of course, and there is still considerable debate about the status of these pieces as coins or medals, and whether they were struck in America in 1776 or in London in 1783. In the absence of more definitive contemporary documentation, we may never know the truth. Yet even if they are medals of English origin, as argued in the Goldstein-McCarthy study, they are as American in connection and significance as any of their contemporary counterparts in the Betts, Comitia Americana and related medallic series. Whether coins or medals, and regardless of on which side of the Atlantic they were made, the brass pieces are almost certainly experimental strikings produced in limited numbers preparatory to the more extensive pewter press runs. Stack's Bowers Galleries is pleased to offer one of these rarest of all Continental dollars for the consideration of advanced numismatists. This Newman 1-B in brass is one of the most desirable variants of the iconic Continental dollar, and it is a piece that would serve as a centerpiece in any cabinet of early American numismatic rarities. Provenance: From our (Stack's) sale of the John L. Roper, 2nd Collection, December 1983, lot 198; our (Stack's) sale of September 2006, lot 112. PCGS# 792. NGC ID: 2AYP. Click here for certification details from PCGS.