1795 Talbot, Allum & Lee Cent. Fuld-1, W-8620. Lettered Edge: WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ONE CENT. Proof-64 RB (PCGS).This beautiful example reveals intense reflectivity in the fields as it dips into a light. Pretty rose-apricot and iridescent gray-brown colors blend over surfaces that are fully defined with an overall smooth appearance to the eye. There are no handling marks of note, just a few widely scattered spots precluding an even higher numeric grade. A highly appealing specimen striking of the type, and rare, as such.<p>The partnership of Talbot, Allum & Lee, formed in 1794 and operated only until 1796, was composed of William Talbot, William Allum, and James Lee, who engaged in the India trade in lower Manhattan at 241 Pearl Street. Tokens dated 1794 and 1795, bearing the standing figure of Commerce on the obverse and a fully rigged sailing ship on the reverse, were struck in Birmingham and imported into America. On this side of the Atlantic they were sufficiently plentiful at one time that the Philadelphia Mint gathered examples and cut planchets for half cents from them, such half cent emissions being dated 1795 and 1797. For extensive information see Q. David Bowers, <em>The Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins</em>.PCGS# 90641.PCGS Population: 6; 8 finer in this category (Proof-66 RB finest in this category).
