Undated (ca. 1795) Washington Liberty and Security Penny. Musante GW-45, Baker-30E, W-11055. Copper. ASYLUM Edge, Engine Turned or Corded Outer Rims. MS-64 BN (PCGS).
Light mahogany surfaces with some pleasing reddish orange remaining, particularly in the reverse fields. Glossy on the sharply struck reliefs, while the fields are generously lustrous. The corded rim ornamentation that makes this a rare variant of an otherwise fairly available issue is quite sharp, though somewhat obscured by the grading holder in places. A few trivial hairlines are noted upon close inspection. Fairly close in condition to the lovely example we sold in our Spring sale, but that one had a large planchet-cutter mark that was a bit distracting. This one has no such features, and though it is graded Brown instead of Red Brown, many would find it the more desirable of the two. It has been estimated that just eight to 10 examples exist with this distinctive rim treatment, but the number might be just a hair higher. We have five distinct specimens in our online archives going back to 2007, and it seems that as many as seven others can be fairly quickly found. Interestingly, these tend to be in nice condition, suggesting that their initial distribution might have been different than that of the usual uncorded pieces.