| Description: |
A very desirable example of this elusive and somewhat scarce early confederal issue. Both
sides are deeply toned in rich, even pewter gray. The scheme on the reverse is completely
uniform and unbroken, while on the obverse there are lighter and darker areas,
particularly at the periphery at the bottom and lower left. Obverse die broken above GI,
as usually seen on this Newman 1 variety in this state. The centers on both sides are
sharp enough to read most of the letters on the sundial on the front, and all of those in
the central legend on the reverse, WE ARE ONE. The obverse is about perfectly centered,
with CONTINENTAL CURENCY 1776 fully on flan and nicely offset from the rim. FUGIO on this
side is clear and the small, Ben Franklin inspired legend below the sundial, MIND YOUR
BUSINESS, can be read clearly, even without the aid of magnification. The two concentric
lines at the center on this side are clear, raised, and complete around (sometimes, they
are broken, but as struck). On the reverse AMERICAN CONGRESS and the central legend, as
noted, are full and sharp. Each individual state's name can be read within its fully
engraved circular outline, and all of the shading between each link is clear, bold, and
sharp. The rays emanating from the central device, which reached to touch the innermost
portions of the peripheral links, are here sharp and clear, save where they were softly
struck at the lower right. There is a nearly complete outer beaded border visible on this
side. There are no signs of the annoying tin pest that often plagues Continental Currency
dollars, and which can be so ruinous to their value. There are just a few, very minor,
tics noticeable on the higher points, but these are essentially trivial. There is still
no universally agreed upon understanding of the origin and purpose of the Continental
Currency dollars struck in pewter. While it appears fairly clear that those struck in
silver would have done duty as dollars, and those struck in a brassy combination might
have passed as a penny or some equivalent on a New York standard (although even this has
been disputed by at least one expert), the original purpose for striking the issue in
pewter has never been explained and may never be. There is, unfortunately, a complete lack
of documentation about this issue, no references to it have ever been discovered in
contemporary literature, save for some ambiguous and obscure references found in the
British press. The most recent theory, put forward by one researcher in the field,
suggests that the pewter pieces may have been in the form of necessity money, struck when
there was no longer any silver in the colonies, the shipments from France not having yet
arrived, but the currency needs still pressing for a local coinage to supply Revolutionary
needs. However, this theory has not been tested, and probably will never be, considering
the dearth of contemporary documentation about coinage matters in New York (where this
issue was believed to have been struck) in the summer of 1776.
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