New Kingston NY Communion Token

I have been digging up some info on this CT from New Kingston, NY. It is amazing what is available on the Internet, but it takes some sleuthing.

This CT comes from Steve Tannenbaum via Steve Hayden.
It dates to the latter half of the 19th century.

     First, I looked up Kingston, NY -- not the same as New Kingston -- but there is a connection. The town of Kingston was established in about 1651. It was located in the southeast part of the state about two miles west of the Hudson River. The town was burned by the British in October, 1777. The town was of strategic importance as a granary for much of the area. It was also the capital of the region.
     After the burning of the town, a land speculator named Robert Livingston made a gift of 5,000 acres in the Platteskill Stream area to the "Kingston Sufferers" who were displaced by the fire. Livingston had purchased many shares of the Hardenburgh Patent in eastern NY and wanted to stimulate settlement there. This patent originally represented the largest land grant in the colonies -- many parcels had been sold to speculators hoping to attract settlers.
     The piece that Livingston had gifted was located just 50 miles northwest of Kingston. Although few of the "sufferers" chose to settle in this place, some of their descendants moved there in the years to come. The earliest settlers represented Dutch, Scottish and Yankee pioneers.
     In 1848 a small store was opened by Swart & Birdsall, providing a market center for the small settlement. By the mid-1850s, there was a post-office, blacksmith shop, and a shoe shop with several fine houses clustered along the main road. A water-powered woodworking mill was constructed in 1869 -- many barns were built, plus a few houses, and the Presbyterian Church. A wagon shop and several dairy farms were also part of the economic history of the town.
     The New Kingston Presbyterian Church was established in 1853 with the first building constructed in the following year. A new church was built in 1900 -- a small, one-story frame building. Since it was a small town, the congregation was not likely to be a large one.
     If anyone knows more history from this church, please add a comment.
     I got the NK CT from the last Baltimore Expo -- the high price of $297 is what I paid for it. As you can see, the picture shows the token in its original holder from the Steve Tannenbaum collection. I do not know if there are really only two known, but I liked the attractive script on the obverse. The reverse is blank but for a pair of concentric circles. It appears that this CT was not used -- or used once.
     The script is challenging to make out, but it says: UPC. The trick to reading it (in my opinion) is to recognize that the letters do not connect, but overlap.

Market Watch

It was an active month of auction activity on ebay despite the cold weather just about everywhere in the USA. All told, there were 257 CTs that crossed the block in February.
   Nearly three-fourths of the CTs sold in the C range, that is priced below $20. As I always say, there were (and continues to be) many collecting opportunities out there each month. As compared to other token categories, CTs are a bargain. And with all the guidebooks available and websites that detail the churches that issued these fascinating pieces, it is a great pursuit that does not force you to skip meals. One-hundred eighty-four CTs sold in the lowest range. Next, in the B range, there were 71 sales between $20 and $49; and above that, only two pieces sold above the $50 mark in the BB range. I should add that two of the B category CTs sold for $49 -- very close!
   The top CT was sold by cobwrightfortishe at a BIN price of $62. The piece was a cut-rectangle from Walls Parish on the Orkney Islands, dated 1856 (cataloged as KL42-1290 and BZ7120). Orkney is a small series of about 67 pieces with two from Walls. There is no way of knowing how scarce this piece is except to note that this relatively high price for a late date CT was paid in full with the CT selling quickly after listing.

Here is one of the large size pieces from the
44th Street UPC in NYC.

   The second CT was sold by comtok at auction with a hammer price of $51. This one was a USA piece from the 44th Street United Presbyterian Church (UPC) in New York City, NY (Bason-109 and BZ7033). Three bidders spotted it, casting six bids; the winner waited until the last and cast a single bid to take it home. Wish I had been there, as this was a great deal! There are two sizes for this one according to the catalogs: Burzinski lists one at 28x19mm, whereas Bason has it at 12x18mm. Otherwise, the design is the same with incuse RPC on a rounded corner rectangle with blank reverse. The one that sold was the smaller variety. Here is the link: USA CT from 44th Street NYC.
   Of note, there was a group lot of twelve so-called "antique post-medieval" CTs sold on February 18th for nearly $50, but this was a misattribution. Instead, it was a grouping of eleven jetons (counting tokens) from Nuremburg and one lead piece that I could not decipher. Although they were made in Germany, several of them were produced for use in France, hence the fleurs de lis. They are not CTs, not a one, but they are old (1500s and maybe a bit earlier) and sold for market price.
   Finally, there is talk of a get together for CT collectors in Baltimore, MD -- maybe at the 2015 Fall Expo or the Spring Expo the next year.