Owner Comments:
Pictured above, is an undated (circa 1792) Washington Born in Virginia Cent, with its distinctive biographic narrative on the reverse, and graded VF 25 by PCGS.
There have been conflicting views as to the origin of these interesting pieces. Both Eric P. Newman and Walter Breen espoused the traditional position, i.e. that they were coined at Obediah Westwood's Mint in Birmingham, England. This was predicated on the obverse's strong resemblance to the notable 1791 large and small eagle proposed cents fashioned by the talented young John Gregory Hancock. Hancock was the chief die cutter at the Westwood Mint.
The debate over the venue of origin took a dramatic turn however, with the August 2010 publication of John J. Kraljevich Jr.'s article entitled "Perkins And The Washington Medal" in the Numismatist. In Heritage's catalogue of the 1/24/2021 installment of the sale of the Donald G. Patrick Collection, it was said of this piece: "However, we now have definitive proof that Jacob Perkins of Massachusetts was the maker."
Jacob Perkins was a multi-talented inventor, mechanical engineer, artist, and physicist from Newburyport, Massachusetts. Perkins' reputation as a competent engraver had previously been firmly established by his ability to create affordable quality dies for the State of Massachusetts Mint, beginning in 1788.
Perkins most likely used the 1791 Hancock/Westwood cents as a model for his work on the Born In Virginia emissions. The obverse features a left facing profile of Washington with the peripheral language: "Geo. Washington Born Virginia Feb. 11, 1732". The reverse displays a six pointed star at the top, followed by the following 10 lines of text: General / Of The / American Armies / 1775 / Resigned / 1783 / President / Of The / United States / 1789. This copper 31 MM, plain edged coin, has been designated Baker 60. It comes in two reverse formats. The second die reverse, pictured above, is more commonly found in the marketplace. It is characterized by the 1 in 1775 being directly under the I in American. The survival rate of this variation is between 33 to 64 specimens.
The first die reverse mates the Baker 60 obverse with a Baker 59 reverse. On it, the 1 in 1775 is directly under the left foot of the second A in American. Only an estimated 3 to 4 examples of this variation exist.
A few (5 to 8) Baker 60s were fashioned in silver. There is also a very rare muling with a large eagle reverse under 13 stars.
Perkins' original obverse die remained in his family until 1959, when it was sold for $5,000 to Albert Collis. (Jacob Perkins had at some point moved to England.) Collis used it to make a transfer die from which uniface restrikes were coined in platinum (1); gold (7); silver (22); and copper (5,019). The original Perkins obverse die now resides in the ANA Museum.