1710/09-AA 30 Den MS(PCGS#860773)

Winter 2022 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1034

等级

AU50

价格

7,839

详细说明

Extremely Rare 1710/09-AA Overdate Mousquetaire The Discovery Specimen 1710/09-AA French Colonies 30 Deniers, or Mousquetaire. Metz Mint. Vlack-Unlisted. Breen-Unlisted. AU-50 (PCGS). 37.6 grains. While Syd never did a deep dive into the die varieties of mousquetaires (largely because Bob Vlack had already written a very good guide to the series), he was always on the lookout for new and interesting varieties. This was one of the fruits of his labors, discovered upon acquisition but never published until now. The overdate is plain, with the roundness of the underlying 0 visible between the 10 of 1710, and the upper loop of the 9 resembling a partial eclipse at the upper right of the 0 of the overdate. Fortunately, the discovery specimen is lovely, with choice medium gray and olive toning, tinged with light silver gray highlights. The centering is ideal and the planchet is glossy and attractive. A die crack from the date to the upper left of the crown seems to have happened when the already hardened die was altered, given its location. Though 1709-AA is a rare issue among mousquetaires, there is a possibility this obverse die was used in both years. In a more popularly collected series, the only recorded specimen of an important overdate would cost a fortune, but the French Colonies series still offers opportunities like this at a reasonable level. Additional information pertaining to this lot: The 1709 - 1713 Mousquetaires and Demi Mousquetaires of Lyon and Metz From Mobile Bay to Montreal, the billon 30 deniers or mousquetaire was a staple of small change across Nouvelle France. Along with its 15 deniers half fraction, the type - nicknamed for similarity of its cross to that found on King Louis' Royal Musketeers - was adopted into American collecting somewhat later than other related issues. In his 1892 Histoire Monétaire des Colonies Françaises d'après les Documents Officiels, Ernest Zay noted that Canada was "abundantly provided with 30 deniers coins of 1710, those with the two addorsed Ls, called mousquetaires." As accurate as his statement seems to have been, based upon archaeological discoveries throughout Canada, the Gulf Coast, and the Mississippi Valley, Zay provides little documentation for his statement, and he is among the authors who seems to conflate the "old sols," which were almost certainly the hammered issues counterstamped in 1640 and recoined beginning in 1692, with other later billon issues. American collectors were slow to collect the mousquetaires alongside their brethren. Albert Frey mentioned them as Canadian in his 1916 "Dictionary of Numismatic Names," published in the American Journal of Numismatics, citing Zay as his source. Zay was also the inspiration for a correspondent to B. Max Mehl's Mehl's Numismatic Monthlyin January 1917 who noted Zay "gives a place in the Canadian series to a coin I have for a long time suspected of being entitled to such a place. It is a thirty deniers of 1710." The correspondent noted he had seen only one of these coins, decades earlier. The mousquetaires were not listed in Wayte Raymond's Standard Catalogue of United States Coins, despite Walter Breen's affection for the type and his important role in the book's 18th (and best) edition. Perhaps inspired by R.C. Willey's excellent series of articles in the Canadian Numismatic Journal entitled "The Numismatics of the French Regime Re-Examined," Breen was incorporating the mousquetaires into New Netherlands Coin Company advertising by 1970, when a company ad in The Numismatistlisted a low grade mousquetaire ("VG or better) and a similar demi-mousquetaire ("VG .. miserably struck on a granular, rough planchet") as "very rare" and "rarer." The types became a staple of the Guide Book of United States Coinsand thus an important part of a Red Book type set shortly thereafter. They have been broadly collected in the United States and Canada ever since. The series is short and simple: two denominations, two mints, five dates for the 30 deniers and three for the 15 deniers. While the demi-mousquetaire is clearly the more elusive denomination, and the concept of rarity is a construct that only has meaning in the context of demand, it's tough to call these coins rare. That stated, most are wretched. The Syd Martin Collection includes some of the best examples of this series extant: superb condition, exciting and rare varieties, and pattern piedfort strikes. Few collectors endeavor to complete a date and mint set of these issues (even Ted Craige didn't), and fewer still pursue the series as fervently as Syd. For the collector who seeks to build a collection of these fascinating issues, Vlack's An Illustrated Catalogue of the French Billon Coins in the Americasoffers the roadmap. Current valuations for typical specimens offer a low barrier of entry to an advanced collection. The opportunity to acquire coins of the quality of those offered is, however, very scarce indeed. Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex American Heritage Minting, February 2004. PCGS# 860773. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.