1694 "Woody" Elephant Token

Howdy peeps,

I finally acquired a 17th century Elephant Token:






It's a thick planchet Hodder 2-B varity (R-2) and it has the woody look to it. This variety isn't shown in the Red Book (page 45-46) but it is listed in Bowers' new book (page 283-285). :hammer:

Ribbit

 

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That is Great Handsome! That is an impressive coin. Never personally seen one.
Congratulations on a nice catch!

The 'Colonial bug' has bit me too (again). Will see if I can pick up anything interesting at the Worcester Coin Club Show in Auburn Ma. next sunday.

Eduard

 

I just finished organizing my Connecticuts into coin holder pages (25 pages with 16 coins per page) and once I finished organizing it, I realized just how long it's going to take me to complete the set (or close to it). :goofer: Here's what I have so far:

1785 - 3
1786 - 6+2
1787 - 43+5
1788 - 18+6

The first number is different varieties and the 2nd number are extras.

I'm shooting to complete the 1788's by the end of next year (except for a couple that are extremely rare) and I figure I will never complete the entire series but I'm going to try. Also, I've only been collecting these for a year so I haven't done too bad so far and I'm missing most of the common varieties so once I start picking them up, the numbers will grow drastically.

Ribbit

 

GREAT pick up Toad! :thumb: These are quite hard to come by, so I'm glad you finally got your hands on one.

 

Wow nice!

 

Wow!! Very nice find!!

 

Hm...could I trade you my elephant for that?

 

Im curious,why was an elephant chosen to be on a New England coin ?

 

In a nut - they don't know. :whistle:

No documentation has been found to help determine their origins or what they were for, so you can research it and be our hero for solving this numismatic mystery.

Ribbit

 

A worthy challange Sir , i accept.

 

Not bad toad. I sold one through Heritage about ummmm, I'll say 17 yrs ago. It's a nice , "RARE" token to own, even in the condition presented.

 

One of my favorite tokens. Congrats Toad!

 

Very interesting, is this a typical grade for these tokens?

 

I removed the corrosion and in the process, I can see the damage better on the reverse and it doesn't look right. To me it looks like filing marks which were on the planchet and thus, pre-mint damage but it's a tough call. Tell me what you think:


















Ribbit

 

Id imagine you'll know these were probably never intended for circulation in the US as coinage.
Struck in London to promote various investments of the day.Possibly brought to the US by settlers.
The most likely scenario perhaps is that they were struck for circulation in Tangiers (Africa) which goes a long ways to explaining the African elephant.
I understand this isnt conclusive and its unlikely that anyone can prove beyond doubt what thier original use was,this is where commen sense must take over.
Its an interesting subject and ill continue research on the Tangiers link.

 

Grades vary but the marks on the reverse aren't normal. You can look at the ones on Notre Dame's site:

http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/ElephantTokens.intro.html

The write-up is also worth the read. :thumb:

Ribbit

 

These are truly a numismatic mystery, which is common during the period they were made but I've always liked them and wanted one so now I have one but I'd die to have a Carolina one.

Keep digging! :stooge:

Ribbit

 

The I dare say H.T if your aim is to obtain a "Proprieters" or "Carolina" variety you best start playing the lottery....them is not only rare but awful expensive as well.........

Concerning mint location, Bowers new book says they may have been minted at the tower of London...I guess theories abound...
One was found a few years ago by a metal detectorist in N.J if I recall; it was in pretty good shape. I would love to have one, but you cannot have it all.
You have a decent, representative coin there H.T, even with the imperfections. Enjoy it!

 

Will Nipper has a Carolina and I held it in my hands and about melted. There's only a handfull of the Carolina's known but I know there are more out there, I just have to find one.

As to mine, I agree that it is a nice example and I spoke with Louis Jordan and he thinks the reverse lines may be striation marks but he's never seen an Elephant Token with them but anything's possible. I'll take it to the upcoming C4 Convention and let the guys have it in hand to see if they can figure it out but I am tickled to death with it and the condition it's in and the price I paid. :hammer:

Ribbit

Ps: Will you be able to make it to the C4 Convention this year?

 

H.T, I would LOVE to attend a C4 convention and meet some of the people personally, but my vacation in the US is coming to an end and we are heading back home in a week.

However, I did manage to attend 3 coin shows in just a little over 3 weeks being here, and bid live at the HA auction July 31st. Next show is the Auburn, MA Sunday next. Really looking forward to that!

I hope you find your Carolina token soon!