1783 MD 1S Chalmers, Short Worm MS(PCGS#596)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

1274

Grade

XF45

Price

13,200

Lot Description

52.3 grains. Deep coin gray toning to both sides provides outstanding visual appeal. Well struck, we note good central details with a bold clasped hands motif and full bird scene, features rarely seen in clear in survivors of this type. There are only trivial signs of handling, and overall light wear that does little more than define the Choice EF grade from PCGS. An outstanding example of the Chalmers birds type shilling, far finer even that many examples certified in AU grades that your cataloger (JLA) has handled over the years.<p>Coins of this type are attributed to John Chalmers, a goldsmith and silversmith in Annapolis, Maryland. Chalmers issued these coins to prevent some of the abusive practices associated with fractional parts of the Spanish dollar, those being the most widely used coins in the early United States. While it was customary at the time to cut Spanish dollars into halves, quarters and eighths, unscrupulous persons would attempt to make a profit by cutting five "quarters" or nine or ten "eighths" out of one coin. Chalmers' solution to this problem was to redeem various fractional parts in exchange for his own coins, charging a commission for this service. Examples were produced in threepence, sixpence and shilling denominations, the dies engraved by Thomas Sparrow, if not by Chalmers himself, and the coins struck at a building at the corner of Fleet and Cornhill streets in Annapolis. Given that several hundred Chalmers pieces are known today, and that most display significant wear from extensive commercial use, the issue appears to have been well received by the contemporary public and widely used in commerce. In an absolute sense, of course, all Chalmers coins are rare irrespective of denomination or variety. Those most often seen are shillings of the birds type, the short worm variant offered here perhaps slightly scarcer than its long worm counterpart.