United States (New York): nickel silver private pattern cent, Feuchtwanger's Composition, 1837 Obverse: Eagle right, wings spread, seizing a serpent in its talons. Reverse: * FEUCHTWANGER'S * COMPOSITION surrounding wreath, denomination within. Issuer: Dr. Lewis Feuchtwanger, New York City, USA. Specifications: Nickel-silver, 18.5 mm. Grade: PCGS AU53; cert. #37443543. Reference: PCGS-20001, Numista-40701, HT-268. Provenance: ex-Ex-David Lawrence Rare Coins, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, 7 February, 2020. Notes: Dr. Feuchtwanger was a German immigrant physician, metallurgist, and chemist who ran a pharmacy in New York City. These tokens were produced as a private pattern proposal to replace the large cents of the time. His proposal was denied by the Mint, but his tokens ended up being widely circulated in the wake of the Panic of 1837, which had caused a severe shortage of small change. They proved practical to the needs of commerce and were less cumbersome than the government-issued large cents. Feuchtwanger cents are catalogued with the Hard Times Tokens, and many varieties of them exist. He also produced 3-cent tokens with two different designs in 1837 and 1864, all of which are rare today. Comments: Feuchtwanger was 20 years ahead of the government in producing a small cent. His "German silver" alloy (which contained no actual silver) stood the test of time well, too. Most pieces retain a pleasingly mellowed silver color today, some 180 years after they were produced. 018900S
I posted a thread about Feuchtwanger cents in December of 2018. Here's the man himself. (I had imagined him as bearded, for some reason.) "Lewis Feuchtwanger, as illustrated in his Popular Treatise on Gems (1867) 3rd Edition." Image retrieved from NGC article; original is likely public domain. Here's how you pronounce his name.
Thanks. That's a known (and as far as I know, rather common) variety, with that blundered 7 like that. It's not really an overdate, though. These were a one-year type. It's just some sort of die engraving anomaly. The specialists may have more to say on that. PCGS would not have straight-graded it if that had been damage! I voted "9" in the poll myself.
I love it! Talk about unique! Patterns like that are exotic and interesting. A solid 9+ for high interest and exclusivity.
This is a pattern that mere mortals (like yours truly) can afford. Low 3-figures instead of 4- or 5-figures.
I know. Most patterns are insanely priced. I have always loved the unique aspects of trial and personal patterns. It does take ample resources to collect and acquire them. That one is a beautiful specimen of the type!
One comment, he wasn't "granted" permission to coin them, he simply did and there was no law at the time to forbid it. Same as for the issuers of all the other hard times tokens. There was a shortage of coinage for change and some merchants stepped in to fill the local needs. Same thing happened with the civil war tokens. There was no law forbidding the issuance of tokens to be used as money until 1863.
I would say they are most likely wrong. In December of 1837 they were still debating his proposal, and if they had given him permission in 1838 I would think there would be Feuchtwanger cents dated 1838. Of course his proposal to Congress was to supply the metal to the Mint, not to make the coins.
OK, I'll see about retooling the wording in the OP, then. Thanks for the clarification. Edit: OP rewritten.
Very interesting history. Thanks for the post @lordmarcovan. I find this type of oddity very interesting and educational. I've never seen one of these before, so it was nice to view an example. Thank you.
They've been listed in the Red Book for as long as I can remember. Those less-traveled sections of the book (Colonials, Tokens, Territorials, Philippines & Hawaii, etc.) always interested me.
Yeah, being dyslexic, I often don't read reference material from front to back, so I wouldn't have seen it, but now that I know it's there, I will read it. Thanks for the heads up.
There's a lot of cool stuff hiding in the Red Book. More material seems to be included than was the case when I was young. It's been decades since I read it cover to cover myself, but it's fun to skim through. Happily, not all of that seldom-seen material is unobtainable, once one notices it. I've always been a "road less traveled" kinda guy, I reckon.
Nice article...like the obverse eagle and serpent...thanks for posting...was very interesting...Spark
Well, I suppose I'll be a bit of a contrarian on this one. While I appreciate the historical background/history, & it certainly has that "183 year old look" (which I like ), the artwork, to me, is, well not very attractive......well done, but not attractive....to me. I give it a 3.
I voted 8. I find the design and composition interesting and consider them as one of the more common but interesting hard times tokens which I appreciate but not a field I collect would I buy one if it came along of course but not a coin I ever felt a huge desire to have in my collection.but I definitely appreciate them and find them cool