Undated (ca. 1663-1672) St. Patrick farthing. Breen-218, Martin 8a.3-Da.5, W-11500. Copper. Martlet. AU-50 (PCGS).66.7 grains. A truly exceptional specimen of the Martlet subtype, the finest seen by this cataloger and a candidate for finest known. The best Martlets known to Syd Martin, in either private or institutional collections, are listed in his census as EF-40, placing this as easily the finest example recorded. The surfaces are smooth, hard, and glossy, with superb chestnut brown toning. Some harmless surface encrustation is present, affecting nothing. The large oval splash is bright gold, offering strong contrast with its surroundings; the right side of the crown and all of the kings face are contained by it. Denticles frame the obverse from 4:00 to 1:00 and the reverse from 12:00 to 9:00. The strike is sharp, all design elements are bold, and neither side shows any defects of even trivial significance. The tiny bird is complete and well defined. <p><p><p> <p>When this was last sold at auction over 70 years ago, it was described as "scarce variety with bird below king. Choice specimen, extremely fine." It captured the attention of a man who had been fascinated by numismatics for decades but had more recently become interested in the Mark Newby coppers: Frank H. Stewart, the Philadelphian who owned the First U.S. Mint and wrote about it in his 1924 <em>History of the First U.S. Mint. </em>A New Jersey native, he penned a pamphlet on this series for the Gloucester County Historical Society in 1947. During the preparation of that work, he "was fortunate in securing all six of the specimens" of the St. Patrick coinage offered in the 1947 ANA sale. For this one, he paid the princely sum of $12. Most of the Stewart Collection, formed years earlier, ended up in the collection of the National Park Service at Independence Hall. This appears to be the only Stewart coin with solid provenance known in private hands. The story of this coin, and Stewarts interest in this series, is told in <em>The Secret History of the First U.S. Mint</em> by Joel J. Orosz and Leonard D. Augsburger, pages 234-235.<p><p><p> <p>Were this a common variety, it would be a superlative coin, as pleasing and choice as any connoisseur could hope for from a St. Patricks farthing. It takes on added importance as a Martlet, and will be a focal point for an advanced St. Patrick collection.<p>PCGS Population: 10; 15 finer (MS-63 finest).From the Archangel Collection. Earlier, from Stacks, privately, October 1980; Numismatic Gallery (Abe Kosoff and Abner Kreisberg)s 1947 ANA Sale, August 1947, lot 923; Frank H. Stewart Collection.
