Canadian BLACKSMITH TOKEN, Wood 11, well detailed,hard to find and popular issue

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Undated[1830’s?] Canadian Blacksmith Token. Wood 11, Bust Left, “Standing” Britannia, copper, coin turn. Very Fine, grading by surface and surviving detail – not that there was ever much more in the dies than what is found here. A left-facing bust, perhaps in imitation of George II, though rather jowly. The reverse figure also points in the wrong direction, but as the design consists of only traces of the arms and shield, that perhaps would not have registered with a contemporary. Darker brown, the surfaces with some ancient scratches on either side, toned down to the surface color so not as detracting as they would be if new; the usual light roughness as often found on these crude issues. One wonders about their success in circulation as pieces appear to be extremely worn but the planchet quality is nicer than one would expect for a coin in that condition – perhaps contemporaries didn’t examine their coppers that closely, or perhaps they didn’t care, since ANYTHING was better than NOTHING. This series has seen a renewed popularity in recent years, perhaps spurred on by the possibility of a book being published by George Fuld and Barry Tayman, who had been working on this series under a grant from the American Numismatic Society, though nothing has been mentioned in terms of publication thus far. Still quite cheap in comparison to colonial issues of equal rarity, which makes for a good time to collect them, especially with decent, problem-free examples like this at little money. In cataloguing the Warren Baker coin in the Taylor sale, it was noted that “Wood-11 is one of the most common blacksmiths and was probably issued late, since it is often found in better condition.” Howland Wood first described the Blacksmith series in the April, 1910 issue of The Numismatist, there listing 46 different varieties; the article was issued as an offprint in limited numbers, and this became the Bible for the series, with line drawings provided to make attribution easier, at least for those that weren’t too worn! While other references have included the Blacksmith issues (including older books like Breton as well as the modern Haxby-Wiley work “Coins of Canada”), most still retain the Wood numbers (though some of the issues listed by Wood – including Wood 15, 37 and 42 – are no longer considered part of the series, the last two actually worn examples of counterfeit British Halfpence). The best offering ever of this series was the Warren Baker collection, sold in the March, 1987 Taylor sale by Bowers and Merena – kind of handy for colonial collectors, since they probably already own that sale for the sheer quantity and quality of the state coinages it contained! Being a Canadian Blacksmith token, this general series is NOT listed in either the Redbook or in the Whitman Encyclopedia, which makes pricing difficult for newer collectors. These are, however, a significant part of North American coinage history, and though they post-date the colonial period for the United States, they are among the earliest of coinages struck IN Canada, and certainly circulated in the northern states of this country as well. This is offered here WITHOUT RESERVE. Winning bidder to add $4 for postage and insurance – ALL items we sell are sent via insured mail [or Registered mail for items over $500]. California residents must add appropriate sales tax. The pictures are of the actual coin being offered, and have been enlarged in size to show the detail. All pictures are hosted on e-bay, which sometimes degrades picture quality, so if they don’t come through for you please e-mail us – at least a day before the sale ends, please! – and we will be happy so send you the image by e-mail. As always, we offer a full, no-questions-asked return policy of 14 days after receipt of the coin if it fails to meet your needs in ANY way – AND WE OFFER ONE OF THE STRONGEST RETURN GUARANTEES ON E-BAY, though it has seldom been used; please check out our Feedback Profile or e-mail any comments or questions that you may have. Thank you again for your bidding interest. We acce... read more

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