1796 AR Medal Castorland, Original MS(PCGS#653)

August 2011 Chicago ANA - Rarities Night

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

7177

等级

MS64

价格

69,786

详细说明

1796 Castorland Medal, or Jeton. W-9100. URS-7. Original. Silver. MS-64 (PCGS). The Castorland jeton was produced in Paris for a proposed French settlement along the watershed of the Beaver River near the present day city of Watertown in northern New York.&nbsp;A tract of sugar maple forest was obtained by Peter Chassanis of Paris in August of 1792,&nbsp;and a constitution to govern the settlement was drawn up by the French Compagnie de New York. The proposed settlement seat was&nbsp;named Castorville (castor is the French word for beaver). Dies for the jetons were probably engraved by Benjamin Duvivier, a stockholder in the Compagnie de New York, and the pieces may have been intended for circulation in the settlement with the value of a United States half dollar (the size approximates that of the contemporary U.S. half dollars of the 1790s). In the end, however, the entire Castorland settlement proved to be a failure, the venture ruined by harsh winters, theft of funds from the Compagnie de New York and inaccurate mapping. With the area remaining sparsely popular at best, it is unlikely that any of the Castorland jetons ever circulated in the settlement.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A poem by Caleb Lyon included in the <em>History of Lewis County </em>(New York) makes mention of the Castorland jeton and describes the design:<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then was struck a classic medal by this visionary band:<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sybele was on the silver and beneath was Castorland;<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The reverse a tree of maple, yielding forth its precious store,<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nb