1833 Token HT-176 Copper Francis L. Brigham MA, BN MS(PCGS#77297)

August 2019 ANA U.S. Coins Auction Rosemont, IL

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

305

等级

AU58BN

价格

2,033

详细说明

Massachusetts--New Bedford. 1833 Francis L. Brigham. HT-176, Low-73, W-MA-280-10a. Rarity-2. Copper. Plain Edge. 28.5 mm. AU-58 (PCGS). Coin alignment. Obverse and reverse dies as HT-175 save for the borders, which here are one row of peripheral beads and not two as on HT-175. Dark olive-brown patina, the surfaces with some minor handling marks. The strike is a bit soft in places, yet bold overall with the design fully appreciable. This HT number is difficult to find in any grade better than EF. Mr. Ford, who had his pick of many of the greatest collections of Hard Times tokens, had a Choice EF specimen. Low remarked on the close identity of the dies of the varieties now known as HT-175 and HT-176 and suggested that they might be the same, just reworked. The occasion for the retouching is suggested by the obverse die break found on HT-175 that is not present on HT-176. According to Bowers (2015), the dies in their HT-176 state were used to strike most of Brigham's tokens, after which they were reworked by adding an additional border of tiny beads and strengthening certain details of the Cheapside building. In its reworked form the dies struck a more limited number of HT-175 examples, the reworked obverse die failing early since all known examples display the large crack evident on the two examples offered above. Provenance: From our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Lionel Rudduck Collection, Four Landmark Collections sale, March 1996, lot 3126; our (Stack's) sale of the Collections of James E. Dice & M. Lamar Hicks, July 2008, lot 3091. Collector tag with attribution and provenance notes included. Click here for certification details from PCGS.