There exists very little documentation about the 1788 Barbadoes copper penny emissions. What does exist is scant, and from a diagnostic perspective, it is quite difficult to casually and easily attribute a specific variety when an example is encountered …
The Machin’s Mills Counterfeit Halfpence

Operating in total secrecy, the mint was located in upstate New York, about 60 miles north of New York City. Most of its minting activities were done at night, under cover of darkness. Despite this, the number of counterfeits that the clandestine mint struck were prolific …
Attributing the N.C. Folger Tokens of New Orleans

Of the many token varieties listed in Wright, Miller, and Rulau, few are as difficult to attribute than the merchant token emissions of Nathan C. Folger. Collectors will find that this is not because the emissions consist of a vast number of obscure differences, but rather because the aforementioned authors did an incredibly confusing job […]
Johann “John” Marr – Civil War Token Engraver

Born in Germany on September 9th 1832, Johan “John’ Marr entered the engraving business at a very young age. Young, destitute, and barely a teenager, Marr found himself forced to live with a jeweler and engraver. In exchange for room and board, Marr was hired to care for the jeweler’s property. Over time, the jeweler […]
Civil War Token Engravers Mossin & Marr

During the midst of the Civil War, engravers and die-smiths Mossin and Marr of Milwaukee Wisconsin were responsible for producing many of Wisconsin’s Civil War Tokens. Representative of their talent and beautiful work (more…)
Richard Trested’s Tokens & His Die-Sinking Legacy

On or about the early 1820s Richard Trested, an English immigrant, established a die-sinking business at 70 William Street in New York City†. For approximately eight years thereafter, Trested operated his die-sinking business (more…)
The Mysterious Blacksmith Tokens of North America

In 1910 Howland Wood published an article in The Numismatist entitled ‘The Canadian Blacksmith Coppers.’ Blacksmith Coppers are contemporary counterfeits of evasion tokens, produced from the early 19th century until about the 1840’s. (more…)
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