1694 Token Elephant, Thin Planchet, BN MS(PCGS#58)

1694 Token Elephant, Thin Planchet, BN MS (PCGS#58)

The January 2012 Americana Sale

详细说明: Undated (Circa 1694) London Elephant Token. GOD PRESERVE LONDON. Hodder 2-B, W-12040. Thin Planchet. AU-55 (PCGS). Handsome light tan surfaces that boast no spots or handling problems. The strike is soft on the left side where the elephant's head is poorly defined along with LONDON on the reverse, a characteristic commonly seen on these early coppers. The high quality of the copper and light tan patina more than offset the striking deficiency as the number of Elephant Tokens that survived in high grades is quite limited. Numismatic Reflections by Q. David Bowers Although the London Elephant token has nothing to do with America, it is related to the New England and Carolina Elephant tokens, which may or may not have something to do with America--possibly giving them a connection. A novel thought is that the New England and Carolina issues were produced by coffee shops of those names in London, which have been documented, in contrast to the long-held thought that they were issued to promote America. We mention at this point that anyone interested might want to investigate the American Numismatic Society's Colonial Newsletter, the dynamic Colonial Coin Collector's Club (C4), and obtain a copy of Dave Bowers' The Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins. Each of the issues in the early American and related series has a story to tell. Most are inexpensive in comparison to federal coins of comparable rarity.