|
Lot Title:
|
1776 Continental Dollar, "Curency", Pewter. NGC Guaranteed Authentic (VG details/corrosion/bent.
|
|
Description:
|
That "1776" is the most magical year in U.S. history is something which cannot be debated, since of course, it represents the founding of our nation. As it turns out, the Continental Dollar is the only large coin available to collectors which bears that date (some Machins Mills halfpennies are dated 1776), and that alone is enough to ensure it's fame and desirability. However, origin and production of the coin is enshrouded in mystery, and most of what is believed today is based on conjecture and research (much by St. Louis' own Eric P. Newman).
Emission of paper Continental Currency totaling $3,000,000 payable in Spanish milled dollars (or equivalent precious metal) was authorized by the Continental Congress resolution of May 10, 1775, but none of these notes featured symbols familiar to most numismatists today. On February 17, 1776, emission of $4,000,000 was authorized, of which 1/4 was reserved for the first national fractional currency. The front of these notes for the first time used the FUGIO legend and sundial, the back showing the "Mind your Business" legend. Also on the back was the thirteen linked rings motif representing the intertwined fate of the colonies and the legends "we are one" and "American Congress". (Newman showed in The Early Paper Money that these designs were created by Benjamin Franklin. Franklin headed the "First Committee" that designed the first rendition of our currency.) All of the first four emissions of paper Continental Currency (up through that with the FUGIO motif) featured a 1-dollar denomination, whereas that denomination then disappeared, not to be used again until the final regular emission of January 14, 1779. This is instructive since it could imply that the 1-dollar paper denomination was intended to be replaced by something else representing the 1-dollar denomination, and that something else may have been also intended to carry on the favored FUGIO and thirteen ring motifs.
Lack of reliable medium of exchange (currency) inevitably leads to a sluggish or unreliable economy, since barter is inefficient between groups of people on an expanded basis, and certainly on an international scale. Like other modern economies of the time, the Colonial economy had evolved from use of commodity money, in which the medium of exchange has actual intrinsic value (silver, gold), to include extensive use of representative money, for which a certificate (paper money) stands for a stated value of the commodity,. But during a time of conflict, an economy based on representative money can be disrupted and devalued by introduction of fake currency. This is precisely one act of war undertaken by the British Empire, when she began to introduce counterfeit colonial notes into the colonies on a large scale. By the end of 1779, so many false notes were in circulation that paper currency was valued at 1/25 of its face value, and the phrase "not worth a continental" reflected the lack of respect for such paper. Thus, America needed a way to prop up trust in paper by introduction of major hard coinage, in particular large silver coins based on the reliable standard of the old Spanish milled "dollar".
The fledgling nation had arranged for a loan from France of silver to be used explicitly to produce hard currency. An engraver, believed to have been Elisha Gallaudet, was enlisted to make dies that employed the same rendering of the popular FUGIO and sundial motifs seen on the aforementioned paper emission of February 17, 1776. Actual production was kept secret, with coins struck in tin (incorrectly called "pewter" today), brass, copper, and even silver. In essence, these are the prototype "patterns" of the first American dollar-sized coins. None displays an actual denomination, and their intended denomination is presumed from physical dimensions and assumption that they would have been struck in silver Interestingly, the misspelling of "CURENCY" is found on both the new patterns (of which the subject coin is an example) and the earlier paper notes. Thus it simply must be that the coin designs were copied directly from, and were intended to replace the 1-dollar notes. And therefore, it is proper to state that Franklin designed the coin.
At the bottom of the presumed obverse is proudly emblazoned a large 1776, and completing the peripheral design element is the denomination: CONTINENTAL CURENCY. These encircle a dual ring within which are embedded FUGIO and pictorial representation of the sun, whose rays penetrate the inner ring and shine upon a sundial. Beneath the sundial is a legend: MIND YOUR BUSINESS. Perhaps this was a reminder to all goodly Americans that "time flies" eternally, so ensure your affairs (business) are in order?
At the periphery of the reverse is a series of thirteen interlocking rings, identifying each of the original colonies, and they surround two central rings which contain the legend AMERICAN CONGRESS between them, and finally WE ARE ONE inscribed within the interior ring. Could this be an illustration of the partnership of the central government (congress) with each of the sovereign states, combining to form a whole and independent entity, free from all other bondage?
Although known with many high grade examples, the tin coins actually did circulate, or at least were put to use as pocket pieces. The manner in which coins are often collected today reflects the wishes and desires of modern collectors, who want to believe that somehow, coins could have survived the ravages of the past 130 years unblemished, and of course, we know that a few did. There are marvels of preservation in museums and some collections today that have been lovingly passed down to us and maintained in pristine condition - uncirculated coins that still possess all their original luster and have remained virtually untouched by human hands. These are of course exceedingly rare, and therefore valuable, only to be pursued by those with sufficient resources to acquire them. But the reality is that most coins struck in 1776 were needed in circulation and were meant to be used. So in a very real sense, circulated coins better represent their essential historical context than do "museum pieces".
The truth is quite simply that the romanticized 1776 America that we know today through legends and portrayal in Hollywood movies scarcely existed, with its pristine marble mansions, marvelously detailed and tailored clothing and human actors who behave just as we do today. As a matter of fact, America at that time was a dirty, filthy, greasy, grimy land where citizens seldom felt the need to even wash their hands. Such a concept was a wasteful luxury at a time when survival meant close contact with the soil. Coins were treated in the manner intended: as tools of trade. They were handled carelessly, they were dropped in the mud, they were exposed to and turned black in the salty seaside air, they jostled around in saddlebags bouncing along miles of unpaved, rutted dirt roads, and were carelessly dumped into sacks or boxes for storage. Coins were used as prying tools, they were holed for use as buttons and instant jewelry, they were bent when run over by wooden carriage wheels, silver and gold coins were shaved down for nefarious deeds, and all were slid across rough hewn wooden countertops at the general store or during a financial transaction. Not only were the hands that used colonial era coins seldom cleaned, but they were dry, rough, dirty, calloused, often with open wounds, and gnarled from exposure to the fields. Our forefathers were mostly farmers and laborers, not office workers, and nothing could be farther from their minds than fretting about keeping coins pristine. Even the money stored in banks were given no particular care, and they certainly were not rolled up for convenient storage. They were simply and unceremoniously dumped into bags that were tossed around the bank vaults like so many sacks of potatoes.
There was, of course, the occasional affluent citizen who might try to form a collection to be passed down to future generations, but the coins were not stored in special holders, they weren't put in flips or tubes, and of course, they certainly were not slabbed. In most cases, they were simply put into a drawer, sometimes along with other silver possessions, only to be cleaned and dusted right along with the rest of the silver valuables, perhaps on a monthly basis. Thus, what we perceive as "pristine" today - the shiny, glossy brilliant appearance of a freshly struck silver eagle, or a freshly dipped Morgan dollar - just simply was not a reality in 1776.
The coins that put us closest in touch with Revolutionary times are not those unused, uncirculated pieces which may not be touched, or literally even breathed up on. Rather, it is the humble, worn, dirty, ugly grimy coins that were actually put into use and not saved by our forefathers that maybe should matter most. Brilliant mint red large-cents and shining bust dollars are lovely to behold, but were likely never handled by John Adams, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, or Robert Morris. Handled coins become worn, and offer the best means for literally touching history.
NGC has called this 1776 Continental Dollar "genuine", but with VG details with corrosion and bent. Your cataloger merely calls it an amazing and tangible piece of American history.
|
|
Low Estimate:
|
$7,000.00 |
|
High Estimate:
|
$7,750.00 |
|
Lot Status:
|
Bidding has been closed for this lot. |
|
Hammered Price: |
$7,250.00
|
|
Price Realized:
|
$8,337.50 |
|