Circa 1795 Liberty and Security Penny. Musante GW-45, Baker-30E, Breen-1253. Copper. Corded Rims. Lettered edge, AN ASYLUM FOR THE OPPRESSED OF ALL NATIONS. Uncirculated Details--Scratched (PCGS). 33.2 mm. 303.1 grains. Handsome deep chocolate and olive brown surfaces with traces of lingering orange close to some of the letters. One short scratch is noted over Washingtons brow, but this can be largely forgiven considering the otherwise lovely quality, combined with the general rarity of this variant. Boldly struck from apparently fresh dies that imparted pleasing prooflike character to the fields which, in turn, nicely accentuate the sharp design features. Comparison of this piece to the superb example of Baker-30 offered above reveals that this is clearly an impression from an earlier state of the dies. The fine die lines mentioned in the referenced description are much crisper here. Essentially perfect centering, with the serrated or corded rims giving the rims a finely toothed feel to the touch, not unlike a dull, fine saw blade. Close examination reveals these to have been added after striking, by hand. As such, this took quite a bit of effort and might explain why such finishing was apparently abandoned, causing this handsome variant to be quite rare today. These seem to be about as rare as the fire gilt specimens, with perhaps a dozen or so survivors. For some reason, however, these corded rim medals are nearly always in nice grade whereas the fire gilt medals are typically well worn. This is strongly suggestive of divergent distribution paths for these two rarities, but the original output was clearly small in both cases. From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006.
