Undated (ca. 1584) Raleigh Plantation Token. Betts-15. Die Pair 2. Thick Planchet. Brass. VG Details--Tooled (PCGS). 223.6 grains. Well centered on a broad planchet, with a complete complement of denticles around both sides. Glossy honey tan with lovely eye appeal. The centers are a bit soft on both sides, more related to strike than wear. The "tooling" mentioned by PCGS is an array of fine pinscratches at the centers of both sides, more notable on the obverse than reverse though present on both. The legend is fully legible and nearly complete, soft at UN of UNDONE but otherwise essentially intact.<p><p>Its a rare collection that includes both die varieties of Raleigh Plantation tokens. We know of two others that preceded the Syd Martin Collection: the Norweb Collection (1987) and our 2020 offering of the E Pluribus Unum Collection (where both of the Norweb specimens reappeared for the first time in 33 years). On this die pair, the teeth are significantly larger and bolder on the skull compared to Die Pair 1, and the letter positions are different on the reverse. This was the only Raleigh Plantation token in John Fords superlative (and often duplicative) collection.<p> PCGS# 920730. <strong>To view supplemental information and all items from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, click<a href="https://stacksbowers.com/sydney-f-martin-collection/"target=’_blank’> here.</a></strong> From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the Wayte Raymond Estate to Ted Craige; Ted Craige Estate to John J. Ford, Jr., October 1982; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIII, January 2006, lot 671.
