Market Watch

This market watch reviews all ebay sales during the period between March 9 and March 15. It was a relatively busy week with 106 CTs sold in 80 sales. A number of group lots were sold with three, four, and five pieces selling at a time.
     The bulk of the CTs sold for C prices: 89 pieces in all, representing over 80% of the total. There were many good deals out there this week -- but spurious pieces were also slipped into the marketplace (I urge you to take a close look and decide for yourself).

The West River congregation in Pictou County was
established in 1795 or shortly thereafter. Many of the
members of this church formed the Salem congregation.
This is a stock token design made to order.

     Only seventeen CTs sold for over $20. Fifteen of these crossed the block in the B range (under $50), whereas two pieces sold for more in the BB category. Both of these top CTs sold at BIN prices.
     A Canadian CT from the Salem Church in Greenhill, Nova Scotia, sold quickly at $72. This cut-rectangle with stock reverse (cataloged as NS228 in Charlton) is listed at $70 in VF condition -- this one was at least that and was worth all the money. This CT is one of the more scarce issues among the nearly 30 cut-rectangles from this province. Here is the link: CT from Salem Church at Greenhill in Nova Scotia.
     Another CT sold fast at the $63 mark. This one was a piece from Middlesex (part of larger London) in England (BK4430). It was a boldly designed square with sharp borders and block lettering. The obverse was all business: Ac/CON./LON. The reverse put it bluntly: TOKEN. It is a presentation akin to CTs from Aberdeen, but with attractive ornaments: in this case, a bundle of wheat stalks and a leafy vine with a small cluster of grapes.

Is this one from Wells Street APC?

     There are many Presbyterian churches in and around London. This piece appears to come from the Wells Street Scotch Church (in Marylebone) that was established in 1733. A similar piece using the same obverse die is clearly attributed to the Minister Alexander Waugh (BK4429) -- he was a scholarly man with a DD who served at Wells Street until his death in 1827. His memoir is available on Amazon, and there is a bio available on the Electric Scotland website. Hopefully, the new owner of this token can find out if this CT came from the W-S church, or if the obverse die was shared by neighboring congregation.
     Of note, another trio of Crown Court CTs with packaging from Burzinski sold for $121. Seven bids were cast by 4 bidders to get this set. This the third CC trio of CTs sold in 2014: a set sold for $201 in January and another set sold for $173 in February -- the photos are different in each listing, hence three sets. The price has dropped within the B range, although I imagine the silver CT is probably worth BB or A money.
     Finally, I close with an ALERT. Several group lots of of primitive CTs from Abernethy, Dornoch, Ladykirk, Longside, among others, have been sold, and they just keep coming. We have to ask: How likely is it that a hoard of simple CTs (all with incused letters or one/two letter initials in relief) that appear to be uniform in color and condition (like new) exists in the USA when large established collections from Scotland do not have similar pieces. These pieces are not from the same shire or neighboring ones, so how did the hoard come to be?
     Several of big collections have been sold on ebay in the past year, so I implore you to use the photos accompanying these sales to discover how a particular CT should look. Check out my previous posting on Fort William CTs to see what I mean.