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

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

The March 2012 Baltimore Auction

详细说明: 1796 Castorland Medal, or Jeton. Original. W-9100. Silver. Reeded Edge. AU-58 (NGC). A rare issue for the Colonial specialist as these originals rarely turn up at all. NGC has certified a mere 7 examples, all in different grades from EF to MS-64, with this piece right in the middle of that group. Boldly struck throughout and toned with lovely gunmetal-blue and silver. A few shallow hairlines are found from handling including a light obverse pin scratch from the cheek to the legend at the left on the obverse, but this is old and toned over nicely.<br />      These were struck at the Paris Mint and designed by DuVivier and intended to circulate in upper New York state where many French families escaped to in order to avoid the fallout from the French Revolution of 1792 and subsequent Reign of Terror. One of the areas selected was off the Beaver River, or "Castor" in French, hence the Castorland name for Beaver land in America. The colonists from France who survived the exceptionally severe Winters of 1794-6 generally left this area in New York, many moving to the New Orleans area, others returned to France. The dreams of a better life elsewhere continue to dog humanity, often faced with the harsh reality of their unwise decisions.