1795自由与安全便士 PCGS VF 30
1795 Liberty and Security “Penny.” Musante GW-47, Baker-“32A,” Breen-1259. Copper. “Plain” edge. VF-30 (PCGS).34.1 mm. 310.5 grains. Glossy and uniform deep steel brown. Sharply double struck or perhaps even triple struck on the obverse, this most easily seen along Washington’s forehead but also visible in other areas of the design, with the appearance of two possible outlines of the head seen in the field above and to the left of the final position. Seemingly struck on a broad flan, approximately two millimeters broader in diameter than the usual Baker-32 specimens seen. As a result, this piece has unusually complete expression of the dentils. The usual Baker-32 is very rare, with about 12 specimens known to us. The edge on that type is lettered AN ASYLUM FOR THE OPPRESS’D OF ALL NATIONS. This piece has long been in the literature as a unique variant, primarily for its apparent plain edge. Walter Breen gave it its own number in his <em>Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins</em>, while Rulau and Fuld listed it in their revision of Baker as “32A,” following Breen’s lead and going so far as to repeat the same “Aston Collection” provenance error. Writing in his own 1995 COAC paper, George Fuld noted that the plain edge was variety was “noted but not confirmed” and it is unclear if Breen saw this piece personally. Musante made mention of it similar to Fuld’s in 1995, “remains unconfirmed.” It appears to have been unknown to both Crosby and Baker. <p><p><p>While the edge on this piece does appear to be without a device upon first inspection, it is not neatly finished nor squared off. It is quite irregular, particularly through the somewhat depressed center. Much of the edge itself has low rims on both sides and one single apparent letter or numeral is visible, appearing as a “1” or a Roman numeral expression of the same, leading a past owner to conclude that this was trial number 1 of the large format 1795 Liberty and Security. <p><p><p>While this piece appears to be on a significantly larger flan, we noticed that the weight was quite in line with other examples of Baker-32 and elected to study it more closely. Other reported weights include the Roper and Norweb specimens at 309.9 and 302.3 grains, respectively. The low-grade specimen from the Stack’s June 2007 sale is 292.3 grains and relatively similar considering the poor condition. <p><p><p>Much closer inspection of the edge of this piece suggests to us that this is not in fact a plain edge variant, but one with not only a bungled application of the edge device, but one that has been further distorted and weakened by the multiple strikes mentioned previously. The edge devices were applied to the planchets prior to striking, and the two or three impressions from the dies seem to have expanded the diameter of this piece and drastically weakened the edge device. We went so far as to take a fine wax impression of this edge which revealed traces of letters Y, M, O and quite unmistakably S. While we believe that its long-time status as a unique variety is not accurate, it remains a very pleasing example of a very rare Baker number, and it has the additional appeal of being a lone specimen carrying its own specific attribution numbers in the literature, in a historical sense, remaining <em>unique.</em><p><p>From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from “An Old Irish Collection”; Spink; Anthony Terranova; William Anton, Jr.; the present consignor.
