(1797) Theatre at New York token. Breen-1055. W-9080. Proof-66 BN (PCGS).399.3 grains. Chocolate brown fields contrast with deep original mint color that dominates the peripheries, surrounds the design elements, and fills the obverse exergue. Some faint iridescence becomes prominent in a good light. All design elements are crisply defined, and the visual appeal is superb. No flaws are notable, just a tiny spot above T of THE and a couple of short, shallow lint marks that blend into the reverse field. The reverse periphery is slightly swelled, and some raised horizontal die finish lines are visible under a glass. While struck for collectors, and typically found in high grade, this piece stands apart for its exemplary beauty and its status as the single finest certified by PCGS. Just over a dozen examples of this popular token rarity are thought to exist. <p>Token manufacturer Peter Skidmore and engraver Benjamin Jacobs teamed up on an extensive series of halfpenny and penny tokens, many of which featured architectural types. As John Kleeberg pointed out in his 1994 Coinage of the Americas Conference paper on this token, most of these numismatic renditions of buildings were copied from printed engravings, not from the building itself. Jacobs patterned his work on this token from an engraving of the First Park Theatre, then still under construction, that appeared in the spring of 1797, two years after its cornerstone was laid but a good six months before the theatre actually opened. The building could seat a crowd of 2,000 but rarely if ever did so. It burned down in May 1820.PCGS Population: 1, none finer.From the Archangel Collection. Acquired privately, via Stack’s, August 1975.
