"1794" $1 Robert Ready Electrotype British Museum MS(PCGS#974169)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

3067

等级

AU58

价格

335,153

详细说明

Small RR marked on lettered edge near 1 o'clock relative to the obverse. A highly desirable, eminently collectible electrotype copy of the legendary 1794 silver dollar. The genuine coin from which this copy was made is one of the most famous survivors of this rare issue. It is pictured and discussed on p. 71 of Martin Logies' 2004 reference <em>The Flowing Hair Silver Dollars of 1794, An Historical and Population Census Study</em>. That coin was originally the property of Captain Hawkins Whitshed, who sold it privately to Sarah Sophia Banks in 1796. Regular readers of our auction catalogs will recognize Sarah Sophia Banks in connection with the Continental dollar. An English antiquarian collector and the sister and collaborator of botanist Joseph Banks, Sarah Banks collected coins, medals and ephemera which were presented to the British Museum and Royal Mint Museum after her death in 1818. The "explication" - a simple handbill or flyer - that she preserved with her "Congress Dollar" has helped modern numismatic researchers to identify the Continental dollar as a medal struck in London in 1783, thereby completely rewriting the history of that famous type.<p>Returning to the 1794 silver dollar once owned by Sarah Banks, it was among the coins donated to the British Museum after her death. Logies identifies it as a Die State III example. It is softly struck along the left obverse border and, especially, at the letters UNITED STAT in the legend on the reverse, as often seen for the issue and due to the dies having become misaligned in a press that was initially intended for smaller-size coins anyhow. The author further describes the coin as, "Originally with full mint state surfaces and luster, but heavily cleaned while in the possession of the Museum, leaving the surfaces extensively hairlined." Logies grades the coin AU-58, Harshly Cleaned and ranks it CC#10 in his 2004 census. Its most significant identifiers for our present purposes are concentrations of adjustment marks (as made) on the obverse between stars 1 and 2, at star 6, and a tiny planchet pit (also as made) in the upper left obverse field below the lowest inner point of star 8.<p>The electrotype offered here is a copy of the British Museum's 1794 dollar, ex Sarah Sophia Banks. Not only does it display the aforementioned striking softness along the left borders but, more significantly, the adjustment marks and planchet pit on the obverse are all plainly visible (although one will need good lighting and some patience to discern the planchet pit). The small RR on the edge near 1 o'clock identifies the maker as Robert Cooper Ready (1811-1901). In 1859, the British Museum hired Ready to make electrotype copies of the coins, medals and seals in its collection for research and display purposes. A skilled modeler and sealmaker, Ready made more than 22,000 electrotypes for the British Museum and trained his sons Charles Joseph Ready (1849-1922) and Augustus Papworth Ready (b. circa 1857) in the same line of work. The Ready sons continued their father's work until 1931, making tens of thousands of additional electrotype copies for the British Museum. Augustus even joined the staff of the museum in 1897 while a third son, William Talbot Ready (1857-1914), was also part of the British Museum's staff until the mid 1880s, after which he became a collector and dealer in coins, medals, gems and antiquities. In most, but not all cases, the Ready's stamped the edge of their electrotypes with the initials RR (as here), R or MB. With the permission of the British Museum, many Ready electrotypes were sold to other museums and private collectors around the world.<p>While best known in the ancient coin field, Robert Ready copies always find strong interest from modern collectors. This is particularly true when the copy is of a famous numismatic rarity such as the 1794 Flowing Hair dollar. And this is a fine 19th century cast that, were it not for the edge mark, would likely fool even most experts. The only casting perfection of note is a tiny disturbance on the reverse border at 12 o'clock, which is small, out of the way, and easily overlooked. The surfaces are richly and originally toned with wisps of olive and russet to dominant copper-gray color. The prices of genuine 1794 dollars in About Uncirculated grades approach $1 million in today's market, and the exceedingly rare Mint State pieces having broken clear through that barrier. This Robert Ready electrotype offers a fleeting and exciting opportunity for the advanced numismatist to represent this legendary issue with a high-quality copy that is a rare, historic and desirable collectible in its own right.<p>The Brand provenance further enhances this coin's desirability. Norman Neubauer was a Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. (now JP Morgan) banker, handling trusts and estates. Morgan Guaranty Trust was the corporate executor of the Brand estate. The Brand journal includes entries for a staggering six (!) 1794 silver dollars. While not conclusive, we believe that this Robert Ready Electrotype is Brand journal #10352, valued at $20, the lowest value of the six examples and strongly suggesting that Brand recognized this piece as an electrotype.