Owner Comments:
Pictured above is a 1794 Talbot Allum and Lee Cent (hereafter designated "TAL"), Without New York, graded AU 53 by NGC. It has been variously categorized as Fuld-1, Breen 1028, and W-8560; and has an impressive provenance, having been in the John Work Garrett, John Hopkins University, Col. James W. Ellsworth, and Long Island Collections.
The Without New York variety is the key to the TAL series, with a scant 19 specimens slabbed by the two largest grading services - 14 by PCGS, and 5 by NGC. Only one piece has been graded higher than the pictured coin - a TAL graded MS 62 CAC by PCGS.
This scarcity is generally attributed to two factors: 1) The early realization by the principals of TAL, that New York had inadvertently been omitted from the design of the coin, intended to advertise a NY entity, and to predominantly circulate within NY City; and 2) The rapid development of a massive failure on the right side of the obverse die, emanating from the MM of Commerce in the legend. This led to an early retirement of this die pairing. (Another diagonal die crack developed above the feet of Liberty, and at 4:30.)
This TAL variety is the only one exhibiting a large obverse ampersand. As with most TALS, these coins reflect significant evidence of circulation.
HISTORY - Talbot, Allum & Lee were the last names of partners, who in 1794, began a trading company, based near the docks of New York City, and which imported goods by ship from East India. To promote their enterprise through advertisement, they retained the services of the Peter Kempson & Co. Mint of Birmingham, England to produce some two tons of copper tokens, that generated over 200,000 pieces. The tokens, bearing the dates 1794 or 1795, were engraved by Thomas Wyon. Though of half penny size, they were designated as cents. Their obverse features a standing figure of the goddess Liberty, with right breast exposed in the French style, and holding a pole in her right hand, supporting a phrygian cap. Behind Liberty is a bale of cotton, symbolic of commerce. The top periphery reads "Liberty & Commerce", with some varieties distinguished by the size of the ampersand. The date occupies the exergue.
The reverse pictures a merchant vessel at sea. The earliest 1794 emissions inadvertently omitted the words "New York" intended to appear just above the ship. This was rectified, and the bulk of the 1794 tokens include this language. The ship's rigging varied between the two years of issuance. To read the full TAL legends one must inspect both the edge of the token, and thereafter its reverse. The edge of the 1794 token reads: "PAYABLE AT THE STORE OF.", with the remaining legend continued on the reverse: TALBOT ALLUM AND LEE / NEW YORK"...with "ONE CENT" below. In 1795, the edge inscription was revised.
TALS come in both thick and thin planchet versions. A few examples have plain edges, or have been fashioned in silver. Although the original issue of TALS were not part of the British Condor Series, eventually certain TALS with muled reverses and unusual edges were fashioned for Condor collectors.
The TALS were the first merchant tokens made for America in substantial numbers. In fact, the company had such a sizable surplus of them (including the particularly unpopular 1795 issue), that it was hard-pressed to successfully disburse them all. An unlikely purchaser of these excess tokens surfaced - the Philadelphia Mint, which in two installments, purchased about 52.000 pieces. The Mint was encountering chronic difficulties in securing sufficient quality copper to strike its quotas of half cents and cents.