Soil Near First United States Mint Yields Unique Early Pattern

(NEW YORK -JULY 9) Stack’s August Milwaukee sale will include two pieces recently discovered in the soil of Center City Philadelphia, including a previously unknown copper die trial for a 1798 dollar. Two metal detectorists, working with permission on a construction site whose location abutted that of the First Philadelphia Mint, discovered the 1798 dollar struck on copper scrap along with a 1793 half cent in the spring of 2006. Now, a year later, the coins have been authenticated by American Numismatic Society curator Robert W. Hoge, among others, and will be offered for public sale for the very first time. The pieces will be sold as separate lots, slated for sale on August 5 at the Hotel Metro in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Hoge called the piece “one of the most exciting items to have been brought to my attention” in his column in the Spring 2007 issue of ANS Magazine. The cataloguers of the piece described it as “incredible” and termed the condition of the piece “sharpness as struck, condition as found,” while noting some of the sedimentary buildup the trial acquired during 200 years in the Philadelphia soil.

The dollar trial is struck from a known die marriage in its terminal state, identified as Bolender-30a and BB-116, die state VI. It is struck on a misshapen copper planchet, but shows a significant portion of the surface area of both obverse and reverse dies. Though copper die trials from the 1790s are known on other denominations, the copper 1798 Bust dollar trial is the first to be discovered on that type and denomination. The only other early dollar die trials – both unique – are dated 1794, one with stars and one without. The ground near the First U.S. Mint has been a fertile ground for die trials before. A 1795 half dime in copper, partially defaced, was discovered when Frank Stewart razed the First Mint in 1914; it is now held by the National Park Service. Blank planchets for 1792 silver center cents were found at the same time by Stewart and also reside in the NPS collection.

The reason for producing an impression in copper from dies that had already produced a substantial number of coins is unknown – it could have been to test the badly broken dies or to show their advanced die state to a member of the Mint staff, or there could have been no reason at all.

While no Judd number has yet been assigned to this new discovery, the editor of the Judd work on patterns, Q. David Bowers, has reserved the number Judd-25A for this piece in the 10th edition. This falls between Judd-25, a $10 piece of 1797 struck in copper, and Judd-26, a copper trial of a 1799 $10.

For more information about the newly discovered 1798 dollar die trial or other lots in the upcoming J.A. Sherman Collection, or to request a catalogue, Stack’s can be reached by phone at 212-582-2580 or online at www.stacks.com.

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