1694 Carolina Elephant token. Hodder 2-F, W-12120. PROPRIETORS, O/E. AU-53 (PCGS).157.6 grains. Even dark chocolate brown surfaces have good gloss and superb eye appeal for the grade. Both sides are ideally centered, with a full frame of denticles present around the entire reverse periphery and at the base of the obverse. The elephant is crisp and well detailed, and the reverse legends are bold. Some very light natural planchet pitting is present on the obverse, trivial and widely scattered. It’s a bit more concentrated on the reverse, with a low area around the center of the word PRESERVE and a few other lesser patches elsewhere, but all are natural byproducts of coining atop a cast planchet. No post-striking flaws are seen, and the rich even color lends truly exceptional aesthetic appeal to both sides. <p>No mere duplicate, this is the Appleton coin referenced by Crosby in <em>The Early Coins of America</em> and a former <em>Guide Book</em> plate coin in the 1970s and before. Its quality places it in the top echelon of Carolina Elephant tokens known, one of the four best certified by PCGS and one of the finest ever offered at auction. Its ancient provenance adds another layer of extraordinary desirability.PCGS Population: 2; 2 finer (MS-63 BN finest).From the Archangel Collection. Earlier, from Stack’s 1976 American Numismatic Association sale, August 1976, lot 88; the William Sumner Appleton Collection, to the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society by bequest in 1905.
