Lot 93
(c.1792-1794) Kentucky Token Cent. Lettered edge, "LANCASTER". PCGS graded MS-63 Brown. A choice coin that boasts a sharp strike and medium to light brown color. Trouble-free in every way, and certain to bring a strong price. Hints of original red are noted on both sides. An exciting example of this historic cent.
These tokens are also known as the "starry pyramid halfpence" (Breen) and are so named because of the Masonic symbolism. The pyramid consists of 15 blazing suns or stars, each stamped with the initial of one of the states. As Kentucky was admitted as the fifteenth state in 1792 (and there are 15 stars), that almost certainly dates this token from 1792 to June 1796, when Tennessee was admitted as the sixteenth state. The obverse legend states UNANIMITY IS THE STRENGTH OF SOCIETY is a pep talk for the new nation. On the scroll is OUR CAUSE IS JUST, which is a bit late as the Revolutionary War had been over for nearly ten years when this was made, and it likely refers to some other cause. On the reverse, E PLURIBUS UNUM is from the Great Seal of the United States, and translates "out of many, one" referring to the stable configuration of states into one union.
The engraver of this masterpiece is almost certainly John Gregory Hancock, Sr., the child prodigy who worked at Obadiah Westwood's Birmingham Mint. Hancock was probably 17 years old when this token was produced, a few years after he engraved the delightful Washington multidenominational patterns in 1792 and many other fabulous pieces which are so well represented in the Benson Collection.
A great number of these Kentucky tokens (usually with the plain edge) circulated in the United States for many years, along the Eastern Seaboard, while the Philadelphia Mint's cents remained unfamiliar curiosities (Breen). Apparently the plain edge tokens were struck for import for various Philadelphia merchants, while the lettered edge pieces were made for English token collectors, and are much better preserved as such.
Estimated Value $700 - 1,000.
Purchased from Ira Reed on 1/18/45 for $5.
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| Realized $1,150 |
