(1688) 1/24RL American Plantations, Original ET. HB. REX MS(PCGS#53)

August 2011 Chicago ANA World's Fair of Money Auction

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

6019

Erhaltungsgrad

AU55

Preis

7.475

Losbeschreibung

Undated (1688) American Plantations Token, or 1/24 Part Real. Newman 1-A, W-1130. URS-4. ET. HB. REX. AU-55 (PCGS). A very rare original striking circa 1688, this type bears the obverse legend error with<br /> HB instead of HIB, causing Walter Breen to speculate that this was, "probably the first<br /> die made." The Whitman <em>Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins</em> describes<br /> this type as, "Seemingly rarer than generally known," and designated it as URS-4<br /> (indicating an extant population of just five to eight pieces). While that estimate seems<br /> a tad low to us today, we note that PCGS has graded just three examples of this issue (with this AU55&nbsp;the second finest), and this variety was missing from the Roper, Picker, Garrett, Norweb&nbsp;and Oechsner sales, as well as most other important Colonial offerings through the years.<br /> This is an uncommonly&nbsp;high grade example of this challenging issue. While the surfaces are finely&nbsp;granular and there is very mild tin pest present, this piece is still considerably finer than many&nbsp;we've seen, with some actual luster remaining and no mentionable (commonly-seen)&nbsp;surface distractions present on either side.