(1790) Church 1P Albany, New York No 'D', BN MS(PCGS#612)
(1790) Church 1P Albany, New York No 'D', BN MS (PCGS#612)
Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 2025
- 等级
- AU58BN
- 价格
- 229,315
- 详细说明
- 100.2 grains. An intriguing example of this rare type, and a unrivalled condition rarity whose NGC grade of AU-58 BN confirms it as the single finest certified Albany Church Penny of either variety. Apparently, a 19th century Canadian has been lightly struck over the reverse of the Church penny. It shows a shield inscribed A. MONGEAU / BIJOUTIER & / HORLOGER / MONTREAL, above which is a small device, below which is a wreath. The depth of the incuse design on the obverse of the Church penny preserved it nicely, with the word CHURCH bold, PENNY also complete save for the middle of the long flourish of the letter Y. As well, the serrated border surrounding CHURCH / PENNY is bold except at the lower right, where it is obscured along with the flourish of the Y. Both sides are evenly toned in pleasing dark copper brown, the surfaces remaining pleasingly smooth even when scrutinized with the aid of a loupe. A minor flaw along the inside right edge of the serrated border, just below the letter H in CHURCH, is as made and hardly of concern.<p>The Albany Church pennies are attributed to the First Presbyterian Church of Albany, New York and were produced as a result of a resolution passed by the church elders on January 4, 1790. These pieces were intended to provide parishioners with coppers to place in the Sunday offering plates, this at a time when small change was extremely scarce in the area following the coppers panic of 1789. The resolution authorizing these coins is quoted in Q. David Bowers' 2020 <em>Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins</em>:<p><em>Resolved: That one thousand coppers be stamped Church Penny, and placed with the treasurer to exchange with members of the congregation, at the rate of twelve for one shilling, in order to add respect to the weekly collections.</em><p><em></em>Two varieties were produced, one without a letter D added to the field above the word CHURCH, as here, and the other with a D added. This letter is thought to be an abbreviation for penny, or denarium, as it was known in the English monetary system. Long assumed to be of about the same rarity, it actually looks like the With D variety is the rarer of the two by a significant margin. With probably only a dozen or slightly more known, of course, the Without D variety offered here is a major numismatic rarity in its own right. This is a well known specimen, Richard Picker's example of the Without D variety (he also had a With D example), and with the overstrike on the reverse it is unique. Representing a fleeting opportunity for the advanced collector of early American coinage, this offering will surely garner much attention and result in spirited bidding.