Owner Comments:
Pictured above is a 1694 Carolina Elephant Token (hereinafter referred to as an ET), Proprietors O/E, variously categorized as: Hodder 2-F; W-12120; Breen-194; and Betts-78. PCGS has assigned it a grade of EF 40. It was formerly part of the prestigious collection of the noted collector, author, and scholar Sydney F. Martin, and earlier ex the Lawrence R. Stack Collection, (Nov. 2006).
The charismatic ETs are at the same time enigmatic, with many unanswered questions about them, including their exact date of production, and most importantly, their purpose.
The ETs come in three main types: 1)The most common are undated, and bear the reverse peripheral legend "God Preserve London", surrounding a shield resembling the Coat of Arms of the City of London; 2)Another type bears the date 1694, and reads "God Preserve New England". This is the rarest ET with only 3 known examples extant. 3)The final type, also dated 1694, (as shown above) contains the reverse verbiage "God Preserve Carolina And The Lords Proprietors. When this variety was initially struck, the word "Proprieters" on the reverse constituted a misspelling. This error was eventually corrected by punching an "O" over the last "E". The Proprieter type is rare, with only 7 known specimens. The Proprietor type, though more available, is scarce in its own right, with a total of 21 graded by PCGS, and 5 by NGC.
The reference to the Lords Proprietors on the reverse of the Carolina ETs is believed to allude to a specific group of 8 English noblemen who were granted joint ownership of a huge tract of land in the New World by King Charles II in the Carolina Charters of 1663 and 1665. All these men had exhibited continuous loyalty to the Crown, and/or were instrumental in restoring Charles II to the throne after the Cromwell Commonwealth Period. Although the Lords Proprietors were granted substantial powers in the form of the ability to levy taxes and duties, maintain order, retention of game and mineral rights, etc., the King continued to retain full sovereignty over the Carolinas.
However, the inefficient and ineffective governance of the Lords Proprietors eventually resulted in a failure to attract and keep settlors. This was exacerbated by Indian and pirate problems. The Carolinas were eventually separated into North and South, in an effort to facilitate management. Ultimately, the Crown exerted pressure for the return of the Carolinas, and by 1729, George II made cash payments to all but one of the Lords Proprietors and/or their heirs for relinquishment of their rights.
Many North Carolina districts, counties, settlements, water bodies, and lands once or still bear the names of various of the Lords Proprietors. The Coat of Arms of each of the 8 Lords Proprietors once appeared on the reverse of the Great Seal used during a portion of the colonial period.