Market Watch March

Spring weather is finally here! But do not get too distracted by the butterflies, as the CT market continues to reward those who patiently wait for rare and curious items to surface. That is what happened this past month: two rare hearts, an unusual CT variety,  plus some mysterious items.
   All told, there were 221 CTs that traded hands in March. As is typical, most CTs were hammered down inexpensively in the C range with 149 pieces trading below $20. Sixty-six CTs sold just above that in the B range: this seems to be the "sweet" spot, as many great tokens were sold in the upper $20s and into the $30s. Above the the $50 mark were only six pieces. Three of them sold below $75 in the BB range, whereas three others sold for $88, about $118 and about $185 respectively -- the latter two pieces sold at BO prices that were below the initial asking prices, so we can only guess how good the deals were.

This 1762 heart from Kirkurd is a rare one. A small d can be seen squeezed
against the rim of the upper right lobe of the heart. It is distinctive and has
a specific meaning that we can only guess what it is. Any ideas?

   Two of the top three CTs were small hearts from Kirkurd, dated 1762. They were well-worn pieces, each with an ashen patina that appeared free of damage -- solid and attractive pieces. Both were listed by cobwrightfortishe. The hearts did not last long.
   The first one sold quickly at the $88 BIN price. I have not seen this CT for sale before: not at Simmons and not in previous collections sold on ebay; needless to say, it is a rare piece (cataloged as BK691/BZ3938).
   The second heart sold at less than the $185 listing (usually dealers will allow a ten to twenty percent discount on BO, so $150 seems about right). The second heart was a variety that is listed in Burzinski (BZ3939), but according to cobwrightfortishe, it was missing from his (and many other) collections. The variety is interesting, as it includes the addition of a small, lower-case, d that is squeezed into the upper right lobe of the heart. What does this mean? Off-hand, I do not know of any other CTs that have this kind of deliberate addition. Thinking loosely, I am reminded of the Albany Church pennies with and without a small script, capital D; the these pieces were for the collection plate as far as we know, so the D has been interpreted as a monetary unit. Certainly, the Kirkurd KKd piece is rare. I was able to find one other in the W.J. Noble sale catalog from July 2000.
   Both Kirkurd pieces sold for big money. Both were well bought, and hopefully, they went into the same collection. If you got one of them, let us know. And, if you have a theory about the small d, let us know that too.
   The other top CT to sell this month was a cut-rectangle of relatively late proportions (27x21) with the inscription: For a Friend of Jesus. Burzinski listed similar pieces that are oval (BZ7486 & BZ7487), but he did not know about this rectangle. Burzinski suggested that the other pieces were used at Roslin (BZ7486) and Edinburgh (BZ7487). It is said (by BZ) to be a stock token design. Perhaps this outlier is from a third church, or it is a pattern piece. Either way, it sold quickly at a BO price that was lower than the initial $118 offering. As before, cobwrightfortishe was the seller.
   There were several other remarkable items that were sold this past month. An old copper piece (described as being from Mexico) with a chalice counterstamp sold cheaply at $29 with 16 bids. That's a lot of bids for only a $29 piece. Also, a triangular CT that was unattributed sold for a healthy $67 with 9 bids -- I was unable to find this piece in Burzinski. Maybe one of our readers can identify it. Also of interest, three St. Louis 1850 Canadian pieces (BZ6487-89) sold for low prices ranging from $21 to $36; these are neat pieces that come in many varieties.
   And so, it was an interesting month with some very nice CT going to happy owners.