1796 Castorland Medal. Copper, Original. W-9115, Breen-unlisted. AU-55 (PCGS). Plain edge. Coin turn.
223.6 grains. As Breen-1059, but plain edge instead of reeded edge. Golden brown with olive blue highlights around design elements and peripheries. Some hairlines are visible on both sides, horizontal mark low on Ceres' portrait parallel to her chin, another heavier horizontal mark on reverse just above the standing figure's knees. Thin vertical pinscratches are seen in the right obverse field in the vicinity of a natural low spot on the planchet. A few other marks are seen, including a nick on the rim just right of the date. The edges are plain, textured and unsophisticated, as if struck without a collar. The die state is the earliest possible, with no evidence of die rust at the jug handle. The plain edge, coin turn copper Castorlands appear to be the very first pieces struck. We've seen the two Syd knew of (this one, and a Gem formerly in the Terranova Collection). We can add a third: the E Pluribus Unum example from our November 2020 sale, which actually had similar vertical scratches in the right reverse field. Whitman lists this variety, but Breen apparently never saw it. All the ones we've studied are exceptionally early die state, earlier than any silver specimen seen. (The silvered copper one in the next lot is similarly early and similarly important.) While advanced specialists have gotten away with owning just a silver Castorland medal for most of the history of our discipline, the rarity of original copper strikes doesn't change the fact that they're really a distinctive type. The original copper strikes with a plain edge appear to be both rarer and earlier than the original copper strikes with a reeded edge, though some of the reeded edge originals (like EPU:4248 in our November 2020 sale) appear to be essentially this early as well.
PCGS# 826978.
From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Anthony Terranova, November 2008.

Estimate: $2200