1796年米德尔顿银币 PCGS Proof 63
1796 Myddelton Token. W-8905. Rarity-6. Silver. Proof-63 (PCGS). 11.2 grams. Offered is an example of what is often referred to as the most beautiful coin or token issued for colonial America. An expertly produced Choice Proof, both sides exhibit intricate detail throughout the design. The obverse is warmly toned in iridescent steel-gray, the reverse with undertones of powder blue and reddish-apricot to dominant golden-gray. Direct lighting calls forth bold reflective qualities from the fields, which features contrast nicely with the more satiny texture to the design elements. Wispy hairlines do little more than define the grade, leaving it to a shallow graze in the upper left obverse field to serve as useful provenance marker.While never intended to circulate in America, this piece has a profound story to tell about American immigration in the post-Revolutionary period. Philip Parry Price Myddelton controlled a large piece of real estate in Kentucky but, while attempting to people it with useful tradesmen interested in emigrating from England, ran afoul of a British law meant to stop the exporting of valuable laborers. The project ended, but not before the dies for Myddeltons tokens, executed by Conrad Kuchler at Boulton and Watt, had been executed. The tokens became popular among the collectors of the day, and most were preserved in contemporary British cabinets.The obverse motif depicts allegorical figures: Hope presenting two small children "genii" to Liberty. We note that both women have remarkably masculine faces, and Hopes face appears to have been modeled after King George III. The face of Liberty is possibly that of Henry Laurens (1724 to 1792) who was a one-time president of the Continental Congress, charged with treason by the British government, and held prisoner in the Tower of London after capture at sea during the War for Independence (he is said to be the only American ever held there). As Hope is depicted as bowing toward an upright Liberty, by inference we seem to have the King of England bowing before an accused traitor -- Henry Laurens -- an image that may well have been regarded as seditious at the time, if anyone had noticed. Fewer than 20 silver specimens exist today. Most are pretty nice, though few are as richly original as this one. From the Naples Bay Collection. Earlier from our (Stacks) sale of September 1979, lot 579. Lot tag included.