Okay, here goes....I've an author friend who has a coin question. Has there ever been a coin that has been documented, yet there exists no image or rendition of said coin?
YES and not the band either. In my state there is a story of lost Gold coins that have never been recovered but well documented... In 1779, a caravan of 13 wagons backed by a large contingent of Continental Army soldiers pulled into the village of East Granby Connecticut, which was on a main thoroughfare from Philadelphia to Boston. The caravan pulled in behind a well know Tavern, known to be a rest stop for the Revolutionary Army. The wagons were circled in a security formation, each with stationed armed guards. The word got out that the heavy wagons were filled with chests of Continental Army gold, supplies, and ammunition. Soon a group of Americans who were sympathetic to the British, known a Tories, took interest in the treasure trove. Under the cover of darkness, these American Traitors quietly ambushed the guards, and stole the entire Continental Army caravan. Less than 2 hours later all 13 wagons were found in a farmer’s field about 2 miles from the Tavern, with no sign of the chests of Continental Army gold. It’s been said that the Tories took the wagons to the east bank of the East Fork of Salmon Brook, and buried the chests close to a stream. They drove the wagon back a different route, and left them outside of East Granby, in a farmer’s field, and then they returned to their homes, to wait for the Continental Army to stop their search. Six weeks later, the Tories met secretly in the forest outside of town, but were attacked and killed by a band of Indians, except for one, Henry Wooster, who escaped. Wooster was now the only one alive who knew of the buried treasure, but before he could plan the recovery of the gold, he was arrested for stealing a cow, and sent to prison, where after 6 months he escaped, and stowed-away on a freighter bound for England. Years later, Wooster wrote his Mother back in East Granby and confessed to the robbery in detail, but never revealed the location of the gold, and died with the secret of its location. Over the years several gold coins were discover in the river bed, but the rest of the gold coins await a lucky future discovery. No Pictures of the coins exist, however. I haven't found any examples. HERE's the web page...Lost Buried Treasures
Thanks for your answer Sal, but my friend is thinking more on the lines of a coin that was produced (minted) and yet no image or artistic rendition or in hand proof exists. Like Longnine009 states above......one that is quite unique.
The KGC had big plans for the world. It would not have been too hard for them to strike some coins, or patterns or even counter-punch KGC on existing coins.
There is a piece that is listed on page 405 of such a coin in the 77th Edition of A Guide Boook of United States Coins. (a.k.a. "The Red Book") The piece was a $25 California gold piece that was made by a Georgia jewler and gunsmith, Templeton Reid. Reid made some pieces from Georgia gold, in 1830, which are all extremely rare today. His California gold pieces are even rarer. Sometime after gold was discovered in California, Reid made sets of dies for $10 and $25 gold pieces which were claimed to be made from California gold. That is possilbe because some Georgia miners did go to California after the discovery, found some gold and returned to Georgia, bringing some gold with them. Much of the gold that was used to make the gold coins issued from the Dalonega Mint in 1853 was from California, not Georgia. But I digress. Reid never went to California. He died in 1851. The only known example of his $25 gold piece was stolen from the United States Mint cabinet on August 16, 1858. It has never been recovered and no photos are known of it. I could also relate a story about a piece of Confederate paper money which no longer exists, but was known to exist in 1861 if that is of any interest.
Are you talking about a known coin type, or a specific coin? It also depends on what you consider an image or rendition. The lost/stolen Yale example of the 1652 New England threepence was never photographed, but there is a crude sketch of it from an 1860s Yale catalog.
It's a screwy question (mine), and it's open to a lot of interpretation. The example that you just gave, and what @johnmilton posted above are probably the best fit for what my friend is looking for.
Thanks all for your replies. I wonder if some of the antediluvian fellows could possibly check in? (devil)
It is a specific coin. All we know about how it might have looked is from the $10 gold coin which still exists, and is pictured in "The Red Book."
My response was directed at the OP but thanks for clarifying yours. I'd never heard of it. There are a bunch of 1894-S dimes https://coins.ha.com/itm/proof-barb...-/a/1231-5317.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515 at the bottom under "Additional Appearances" that may or may not be the same as other known imaged examples. Particularly intriguing is: "G. Samuel Rappaport, of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Art Kagin; advertised by Hollinbeck Coin Co. in the October 1952 issue of The Numismatist; Reuter; Abner Kreisberg; Empire Coin Company; mentioned in issue number 2 of Empire Topics, 1958; Pennsylvania estate. Untraced since the late 1950s." I dug up the ad from the Numismatist archives and there's no image or description, just "1894-S PROOF." A later HA blurb says "considered unconfirmed by most numismatists" so who knows.
The 1894-S dime is for real. Perhaps the lowest grade one was bought by Jack Freidburg over the counter at the Gimbels Department Store coin counter in the late 1950s. It was in Good condition. I have no idea what these guys were talking about in the late 1950s. It was known at that time. This is from PCGS Coin Facts.
I'm just referencing a specific example that may not have ever been imaged. The untraced example in my post doesn't seem to be the Gimbels coin, because it was advertised in 1952 and the Gimbels coin first appeared in 1957. Are you saying they're the same coin?
