Lot 33
1796 Edwards Copy Kenney-1 Rarity 7-. MS-60. Frosty light greenish olive brown with small, subtle splashes of reddish chocolate toning in the field off the chin and traces of lighter brown and tan in protected areas of the reverse. A tiny spot of darker olive toning over the 9 in the date is the best identifying mark. The 7 and 9 in the date are clearly repunched and the entire piece is sharply struck. The Edwards copies or "counterfeits" were made by Dr. Frank Smith Edwards of New York sometime prior to his death in 1865. The dies were handmade and the workmanship is of good quality. The resulting design is a fairly accurate representation of the genuine article, but it is far from perfect. Reportedly only 12 examples were struck and the dies were destroyed prior to April 1866. Dr. Edwards' collection was sold in an auction conducted by Bangs, Merwin & Company in October 1865, and none of these copies was included in that sale. The first appearance of one of his copies in an auction occurred in 1866. The planchets used for these copies were cut from rolled copper and are a bit thinner and lighter than the genuine version. This cataloger has seen 8 of the known examples, and several of the planchets are slightly out-of-round, including the example offered here. A nice example of this extremely rare and famous copy. Weight 89.5 grains.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 12,000.
Ex Heritage 1/13/05:6959.
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| Realized $11,500 |
