Watch List notes:

CANADA. Lower Canada - Magdalen Island. Copper "Seal" Penny Token, 1815. Birmingham Mint. PCGS MS-64+ Red Brown Gold Shield.
LC-1; KM-Tn1; Br-520. Easily the finest known example of this iconic early Canadian type, recognized by numismatist the world round due to its charming illustration of a seal on one side and the unusual display of a fish fillet on the other. From a surely modest mintage to begin with, most examples of these tokens circulated extensively, with survivors often reflecting decades of use, with significant softening of the highpoints and large marks over the surfaces due to its heft. At the other end of the spectrum is this coin. Intentionally set aside or perhaps forgotten altogether, this piece escaped the perils of commerce for the better part of a century until it made its way into collector hands, and after that, it avoided some the "preservation techniques" for coppers, like lacquering, that have not withstood the test of time. Due to this unlikely sequence of events, this piece remains in absolutely breathtaking condition, with surfaces that are exceptionally smooth. Cabinet placement has resulted in the once-red open fields yielding to "brown" with subtle mauve color integrated within. Around the designs, especially at the legends, significant red coloration remains however, so much so that with the exception of a few proofs of the type, we've seen no equal. All considered, a truly landmark opportunity for the serious collector of issues from Canada's formative colonial period.

The Magdalen Islands are a series of thirteen islands situated in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence just to the north and east of Prince Edward Island and west of Newfoundland. First settled by the French, they were later ceded to the British. Following the American Revolution in 1798, the islands were given the Sir Isaac Coffin by George III for this loyalist stance, he ultimately being responsible for the existence of this token.

In 1815, under the assumption that he had coining rights, Coffin commissioned Sir Edward Thomason to strike tokens for the islands. In turn, Thomason hired one of the most prolific and well-known engravers of the day, Thomas Halliday, to engrave the dies. In his memoirs, Thomason recounts:

'1815. I had manufactured this year a large quantity of tokens for Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart., who is the sole possessor and king, as he call himself, of the Magdalen Islands, situated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in North America. They were principally in copper, pence and half-pence.'

It is interesting to note that while dies were perhaps manufactured, no issues of the half-pence denomination are known to have been struck.

Ex: Cokayne Collection.

Estimate: $7000.00- $10000.00