Heritage World Coin Auctions
Monthly Auction 61158 5 Jul 2020
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Canada
Lower Canada. City Bank "Bouquet" 1/2 Penny Token ND (1837) AU53 Brown NGC, Br-673 (R5), LC-7 var. (Extremely Rare; stated as plain edge), Courteau-2 (R9). 7.25gm. "Reeding-like" edge. Medal alignment. Trade & Agriculture issue. Believed to be by Jean-Marie Arnault of Montreal. An extraordinarily rare issue, representing not only the second rarest emission in the entire "bouquet" series according to Breton, but also likely the sole attainable 1/2 penny (sou) token from the Montreal City Bank--the other issue, Br-672, presumed unique and residing in the Bank of Canada collection. In 1955, Fred Bowman suggested only 5 to 6 specimens were then known. Charlton records a sole sales result as part of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection (Part XXIII), which brought $44,062 in Stack's 2013 August ANA Sale (lot 21080), and we are aware of no other examples coming to public auction since. Attractively preserved, the current offering presents a deep mahogany patina uniformly decorating the obverse and reverse surfaces alike, and is sharply defined in nearly every facet of its design.
The normal edge type recorded for Br-673 is plain; however, this piece has an unusual incuse edge decoration resembling reeding, but is a repeating design with non-parallel lines. This edge decoration could only have been added later. While Jim Haxby thought that there was some possibility that this piece was an electrotype prior to its certification, we have examined photographs of 4 specimens (the aforementioned John J. Ford piece, the James Ferrier piece sold by Edward Cogan in April 1871, and the pieces plated in Courteau and Charlton), together with the other example present in this sale. The Ford, Charlton, and Ferrier pieces all seem to show thin, spindly lettering, a thin ribbon with incomplete features in the bow, and sharply contoured features, while those on the Courteau example are noticeably fatter, though this may owe somewhat to the clear wear that piece had encountered. All appear to show sharp rims, which on the reverse begin to weaken around the M in Montreal continuing clockwise, with the exception of the Ford specimen, which may simply owe to the lighting in the photograph.
From the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Part II
https://coins.ha.com/itm/canada/canada-lower-canada-city-bank-bouquet-1-2-penny-token-nd-1837-au53-brown-ngc-/a/61158-98187.s?type=CoinArchives61158
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 5000-10000 USD
Lower Canada. City Bank "Bouquet" 1/2 Penny Token ND (1837) AU53 Brown NGC, Br-673 (R5), LC-7 var. (Extremely Rare; stated as plain edge), Courteau-2 (R9). 7.25gm. "Reeding-like" edge. Medal alignment. Trade & Agriculture issue. Believed to be by Jean-Marie Arnault of Montreal. An extraordinarily rare issue, representing not only the second rarest emission in the entire "bouquet" series according to Breton, but also likely the sole attainable 1/2 penny (sou) token from the Montreal City Bank--the other issue, Br-672, presumed unique and residing in the Bank of Canada collection. In 1955, Fred Bowman suggested only 5 to 6 specimens were then known. Charlton records a sole sales result as part of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection (Part XXIII), which brought $44,062 in Stack's 2013 August ANA Sale (lot 21080), and we are aware of no other examples coming to public auction since. Attractively preserved, the current offering presents a deep mahogany patina uniformly decorating the obverse and reverse surfaces alike, and is sharply defined in nearly every facet of its design.
The normal edge type recorded for Br-673 is plain; however, this piece has an unusual incuse edge decoration resembling reeding, but is a repeating design with non-parallel lines. This edge decoration could only have been added later. While Jim Haxby thought that there was some possibility that this piece was an electrotype prior to its certification, we have examined photographs of 4 specimens (the aforementioned John J. Ford piece, the James Ferrier piece sold by Edward Cogan in April 1871, and the pieces plated in Courteau and Charlton), together with the other example present in this sale. The Ford, Charlton, and Ferrier pieces all seem to show thin, spindly lettering, a thin ribbon with incomplete features in the bow, and sharply contoured features, while those on the Courteau example are noticeably fatter, though this may owe somewhat to the clear wear that piece had encountered. All appear to show sharp rims, which on the reverse begin to weaken around the M in Montreal continuing clockwise, with the exception of the Ford specimen, which may simply owe to the lighting in the photograph.
From the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Part II
https://coins.ha.com/itm/canada/canada-lower-canada-city-bank-bouquet-1-2-penny-token-nd-1837-au53-brown-ngc-/a/61158-98187.s?type=CoinArchives61158
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 5000-10000 USD