Squares, Rectangles & Rounds in Fall Colors: The Key!

A while back I presented a colorful graph. I suspect most folks figured some of it out. As you know from earlier posts, I like to use shapes as a starting point for classifying CTs from Scotland. When the shapes are tallied across time, interesting trends (and regional variations) come to light.
     So here is the key to the puzzle. The first two colors are squares, rectangles & rounds. The squares and rectangles were grouped together and given a deep brick red. But the rounds stand alone and are of lighter color. These were among the earliest pieces.

Some early squarish ones, or should
we call some of them rectangular?

     Yes, hearts appeared early too, but they did not last long and would only produce a sliver on this graph. Odd shaped CTs with unequal sides also arrived early on, but these were anomalies and barely merit a space on this graph. If I put them in with green hues then we might see them.
     The squares and rectangles were grouped together since they are closely related. In fact, some tokens are squarish due to one uneven or scalloped side, or else they are barely rectangular with a difference of one millimeter. Burzinski liked to sharply differentiate the shapes as one or the other, whereas Brook used the term "squarish" here and there.
     Some pieces had square designs on slightly rectangular flans. Certainly, some pieces were clearly elongated with relaxed spacing of letters and numbers or with three lines of data -- true rectangles! In any case, you can see the big area taken up by these two right-angled CT forms.

Roundish and Round.

     The rounds became less popular over time and never rivaled the right-angled pieces. However, they remained in use until the end when they were about as popular.
     Can you figure out the other colors? If not hearts or octagons, then what? Hint: just look at the key.
     Of course I am referring to the modern shapes. For starters, we have to give the cut rectangle its own category, as these became the most popular type. And so here they are, showing a "slim" beginning. Despite the puny start, they began to assert themselves at the start of the nineteenth century. Cut rectangles became dominant at the end.
     So what is left? The oval of course! And, as you can see, the oval had its day! It dominated briefly, coming on strong in the late eighteenth century. It was quite popular at the turn of the century. The oval was eventually eclipsed, but remained popular.
     In the end, the big pieces took over: rotund ovals and broad cut rectangles. All the data could be squeezed on the obverse, leaving the reverse for a Bible verse.

Market Watch

This Market Watch reviews ebay auctions from November 10 through November 16. It was a busy week with 122 CTs sold. Just yesterday, 93 CTs were sold, so most of the action was on Saturday. Prices spanned the whole range, so everyone had a chance to get something. Here is one of the pleasures of CT collecting: You can add one or two pieces each week for reasonable dollars!
     I decided to change the rating system this week. HD and D descriptors will no longer be applied, as many fine CTs are desirable even at lower prices. Instead, I will use a more intuitive model. Here we go: AA tokens are those that sell at or over the $100 mark, whereas A tokens are those that sell for less but cross the $75 mark.  BB tokens are those that sell in the upper middle range of $50 to $74, and B tokens include the lower mid-range of $21 to $50. Finally, we get to C tokens -- those in the less than $20 range. Note that these are the same ranges used previously. If you need adjectives, we can say, "awesome, better, and cheap" -- but remember, we are only referring to selling prices, not quality or importance of the pieces. That, we leave to the collector.
     As is usual, most of the CTs sold this week were C pieces: 84 of them. In the lower mid-range (B), there were 26 CTs sold, whereas 9 tokens were in BB land. There was one A CT and two AA CTs. These figures clearly show that most CTs sell for reasonable prices. This is encouraging for anyone who wants to get started, as nearly 70% of CTs sold for less than $20 -- I noticed many attractive and/or interesting pieces in this group (and purchased a few myself).
     A new seller -- benachie -- came online this week who listed 75 CTs from "a Scottish collection of 700 examples that lain dormant/untouched since the 1970s." Also, cobwrightfortishe offered 16 more CTs from the Macmillan collection.
     The top AA piece sold for $126. Six bidders vied for this one, casting 9 bids, doubling the price on the last day. It was a straight rectangle from Ireland in moderately worn, but unblemished, condition. The CT was from the York Street Church in Belfast (B7285). As noted last week, these pieces are hot -- one sold in the Simmons Auction for $88. Here is the link: Irish CT from Belfast.

The burning bush/AMO AMO
design was used on at least three
highland CTs: same reverse die?

     The second AA CT came from a grouping of 16 pieces offered by cobwrightfortishe on November 16th: a round piece from Fearn (BK417) with the burning bush/AMO AMO design on the reverse. This specimen presented with irregular edges (as made) and smooth surfaces steeped in a rich ashen patina -- no wear was noticable, and the burning bush was strong. It  attracted five bidders, casting 6 bids to push the hammer price to $116 -- all the usual suspects were in this one. Here is the link: CT from Fearn.
     This burning bush reverse design can be found on CTs from Auldearn, Avoch and Fearn -- three parishes in close proximity near the Moray Firth. The round pieces from these churches are all irregular with thin, hand-cut letters/numbers. They appear to be the work of a single engraver.
     The only A token was also included in the cobwrightfortishe auction: an upright straight rectangle, dated 1739, from Fogo in Berwick (BK430). Six bidders actively competed for this one with 12 bids entered to produce a very strong price of $96 (almost in AA range). It was described as a "rare" piece: When was the last time you saw one? Here is the link: CT from Fogo.
     These high points do not adequately characterize the quality and intrigue of the pieces offered this week. Many excellent dated CTs from the 1700s were to be had -- most of them bringing spirited bidding in the BB and B ranges. I think some of the best deals were to had in these categories. I must say that I missed out on a few of them -- but that is the challenge of collecting: namely, the thrill of the hunt and the longing (and misgivings) for the ones that got away.
     Some of these mid-range pieces included two seventeenth century bits with the initials of the minister only (BK424 from Fintray and BK437 from Forgue) -- these primitive squares date from the 1680s and 1650s respectively and represent turbulent times in the history of the Presbyterian Church. Also, two diminutive Fife rectangles from Flisk and Forgan (BK429 and BK434) sold for under $50 -- nice pieces! If you have been wanting a four-cornered dated CT from Fintry (from 1733), one was hammered down at just $55; this is a popular type-piece, as only a few were made like this within a narrow geographic region. These are all great pieces.
  

How many CTs can be found at a Big Coin Expo?

I am back from the Big Coin Expo. While there, I decided to ask everyone who looked the part: Do you have any Communion Tokens? How do you look the part? Tokens and foreign coins fill the case (and no slabbed Morgan dollars). The task was to determine just how many CTs can be found by traveling to the big city of old ships and crab cakes.
     The short answer: I found 350 Scottish CTs (plus or minus two or three) and nine (maybe 10) more from the USA. I also met two dealers who claimed to have a few at home ("I have them somewhere, but I'm not sure where").

A double-box of CTs is hard to find!
Just about all of them are from Burzinski.

     The analysis: one exonumia dealer had 330 SCTs + 8 USA CTs, another had 20 SCTs, whereas two foreign coin dealers showed up with 8 and 2 SCTs respectively, and finally a generalist had 1 (maybe 1 more) USA CTs. There you have it. Out of 200+ dealers, five of them had CTs. You could get more bugs (I think they call them scarabs) than you could CTs from all the dealers there, but for one!
     Clearly, the CT marketplace is thin. Few CTs are available for sale in comparison to all other stuff, with silver rounds and Morgan dollars leading the charge. In the past month, there have been more SCTs on ebay at any one time than at this three-day show -- which, by the way, is one of the best USA coin shows you can attend.
     I only brought one book to sell -- good thing, as there was no one to buy it. Nonetheless, a few of us exonumia fans did meet for lunch on Saturday (one of them, other than me, is a CT devotee). One of my accomplices also collects game counters, so he understands the peculiar nature of a thin marketplace: a smattering of pieces, few collectors, and values defined by two folks coveting the same piece.
     So here is what was found. Steve Hayden had brought a double-row box of CTs from the Burzinski collection. They were obtained from Steve Tanenbaum, and they were enclosed in 2x2 holders with his attributions squeezed in the corners with Burzinski boldly written in red ink. These are the remnants of Lester's collection, having passed through several dealers before here. I have been mining these boxes for two years now, but I always go back for one or two more. I got 10 this time, and my friend purchased about 20. Steve has many SCTs on his website too. He is an easy-going guy and fun to buy from.
     Steve had a few USA tokens. I will profile them in other posts, but for now I will mention that most came from PA and NY. Three of them were Buena Vista squares -- not common by any measure, but not bordering on unique as is the case for many USA tokens (Bason-201).

This primitive lead square
from PA reads: AR/C for
Associate Reformed Church.

     Paul Cunningham, a well-known exonumia dealer and TAMS board member, had about 20 SCTs. He had many double-row boxes full of every token imaginable: from Arcades and Circuses to Trollies and Telephones. I think my friend cleaned him out of gaming tokens. Of particular interest, Paul had three USA Trade Dollars that had been shaped into "potty dollars" -- this is when a carver shapes a johnny beneath Ms. Liberty. But here is the best part: They came from Lester Burzinski's collection. I was told that he had a whole box of these!
     Foreign coin dealer Allen Berman brought eight SCTs for me to look at. They were common pieces (three of them Port of Monteith squares, albeit rough), but still the grouping ranked him third in the CT count. Allen is a really nice guy -- full of stories with lots of medieval coins to go with the tales.
     Two more SCTs were spotted in the case of an absent dealer from the Mid-West: a pair of 1699/DBK pieces (Dunblane). They both were dusty with a thin layer of salt on the surfaces.
     Finally, I discovered a single USA CT held for a decade or more by a Virginia dealer. The piece came with an interesting story. It was a rectangular piece attributed to Argyle, New York. According to the story, this token was passed down in a NY family. It was described as unique; however, it is listed as Bason-74. It was a beautiful molded rectangle with bold letters (A M), no wear and unblemished ashen surfaces. It was priced at a firm $750. He had another piece (the maybe piece) that appeared to be completely engraved with a chalice in the center. It may have been a one-off token -- it was not for sale.

Market Watch

This Market Watch covers ebay auctions from November 3 through November 9. It was a busy week with 62 CTs sold (two lots of 3 tokens each are included in the count, making 58 sales in all).
     The week started off with an offering of 18 CTs from tomv007 -- as with many of his auctions last summer, all the tokens offered were from Angus (perhaps from the same collection). Later in the week, there were 31 tokens from a seller in Ontario, Canada, that were listed as "communion tokens" but were something else. The tokens appeared to be a mixture of checks and counters. As such, these pieces were not counted in the weekly tally given above. Finally, the week closed with 12 tokens offered by tavytavy.
     Two-thirds of the tokens (46 of them) sold for less than $20 with some very nice dated squares included in the mix. Another 10 CTs sold in the middle range with three more selling above $50. The stars of the show were two pieces that crossed the $75 mark and one other that sold for a whopping $195 (certainly deserving of the moniker: highly desired or HD CT).

This crude, but apparently quite rare,
rectangle from Ireland sold for $195. 

     The HD CT was a piece from Ballylennon in Donegal, Ireland. It was a crude rectangle that was irregularly shaped and impressed with BL for the county on the obverse and GH for the minister George Hanson on the reverse. It was a specialist piece with only three bidders pushing the price from about $50 on the last day to $195 at the hammer. A closer look at the picture revealed that this was the same CT that sold last month in the Simmons Gallery auction as Lot 1104 for about $48 -- quite a profit for a quick flip! Here is the link: Irish CT from Ballylennon.
     As mentioned above, two other CTs were bid past $75. First, a round piece from Montrose in Angus (B4684) was bid to $86 with five bidders vying for ownership. The token was attractive with smooth surfaces and sharp details; however, it did have a small scratch near the rim that showed bright. Still, the price was strong. It was from the group offered by tomv007. Here is the link: Round CT from Montrose.
     Second, a heart from Clackmannan dated 1731 (B1460) attracted 13 bids from four bidders. The piece was smoothed by wear with a few hits here and there -- a decent specimen for one that often is found in scraggy condition. The bidding was steady and strong from the start, as hearts are always popular. Everyone who collects CTs want a heart! The final price was $76. This one came from tavytavy. Here is the link: Heart CT from Clackmannan.
     Have you noticed that the number of sales is picking up. As I post this, we have over 390 listings for CTs on ebay! This week, we have witnessed the return of two sellers that we have not seen in a few months.
     On another topic, stay tuned for a recap of the Baltimore Coin Expo.
    
    

Communion Token Art

I have an intriguing graph for you to ponder -- in Fall colors too. I did not include the KEY, so that you could enjoy the contours with unclouded mind.
     But the colors do have significance.
     You can see that all the Scottish CTs are included along the vertical axis, whereas time marches across the horizontal axis in 20-year intervals.
     So what does all this signify?
     I am sure that you will figure it out. I did, however, group all the right angles together. Yes, this is a clue: all the right angles, together.
     We can explore all of this later. For now, enjoy the shades of autumn and contemplate your tokens. The cooler weather means more time inside with hot cider. And during these breaks in routine, we may decide to pull out our tokens and thumb through them, thinking about how they changed across time.

CT & Token Get Together at Baltimore Expo

The Baltimore Expo, sponsored by Whitman, is next weekend: November 8-10. If you are planning to go, this would be a good time to meet up.
     The Expo is probably the best East Coast numismatic show in the USA. There are several token dealers who attend, and they usually have a few CTs on hand. Of course, if they do not know you are shopping for CTs beforehand, they may leave some of their stock at home, as few collectors ask to see them. But at least you can connect with them. Of course, there is no one that specializes in them, as the collector base is thin, and the dealers would starve if that is all they had to sell.
     I have purchased many CTs from Steve Hayden who is currently selling off the last remnants of Lester Burzinski's collection. Hayden acquired much of his stock from the late Steve Tanenbaum's estate. Hayden has many other tokens to look at -- particularly Civil War tokens, as these are hot right now.

Like a medieval fair, the dealers travel long distances and
set out their trinkets: old coins, tokens, odd bits ...
and hopefully, a few leaden squares and rounds.

     In addition, several foreign dealers have a lonely CT or two in their cases. You never know what you will find sitting next to a silver penny or groat.
     For those looking to branch out, or just let your impulses go unchecked, there will be many other coins, tokens and oddments for which to spend your hard-earned cash. It is good for your health to explore new collecting areas.
     I will be there on Friday and Saturday. I am not hunting for anything in particular, but who knows! If you want to talk tokens, I will be out front in the foyer of the show at 12 noon on Saturday getting one of their famous crab cake sandwiches. Maryland is known for its crab cakes, and the ones at the show are actually pretty good -- much better than the charred hot-dogs that you find at local coin shows. Still, too many crab cakes will kill you while you sleep!
     I will wear my trademark mustard ball cap that reads: One Coin is Never Enough -- very cool. So look for the cap, or the guy chewing on a crab cake. At least one other CT collector will be there too. I will bring a few books to show or sell if you are interested.

Market Watch

This Market Watch reviews all ebay auctions between October 27 and November 2. It has been a busy week with many more listings than usual. As the weather cools and the sun retreats to the southern hemisphere, the CT market seems to be heating up -- or at least more sellers are bringing their tokens to the marketplace. At one point, we had nearly 400 ebay listings at one time -- a record in 2013.
     Overall, 110 CTs crossed the block in 95 sales (note: several pairs were sold together and a set of five was offered for "one money.") There were two HD CTs sold (those over $100), and two D CTs sold (those over $75). Four more sold for over $50. But do not let the high prices fool you, as this was a week for many great deals: 81 CTs crossed the block for less than $20, and many of these were very nice. Completing the tally, nine more CTs changed hands in the lower middle range ($20 to $49).
     Two big sales accounted for the increase in CTs sold this week. The week started with a large two-day auction by jamesdicksonbooks, a UK dealer who sells antiquarian theological books and ephemera. He offered 16 CTs on October 28, but that was just the warm-up act, as 38 more CTs crossed the block the following day. He has sold on ebay before but has not been present for awhile -- I have purchased from him and recommend this seller. The week closed with cobwrightfortishe offering 16 CTs on Friday. Several of them were rare, and all of them brought very strong prices (all the HD and D tokens were in this lot). There was something for everyone.
     The first auction attracted a small group of bidders -- many inexpensive lots were contested by two or three bidders. In particular, jamesdicksonbooks sold 50 CTs for under $20. There were some nice Glasgow squares in there that should have brought more money in my opinion (as you know that I like these tokens). At first glance, it appeared that the folks in bidder land were all asleep when the auction was going, but that is not true, as a few pieces attracted much attention and brought strong bids with more than a handful of bidders contesting -- as such, prices for three CTs were pushed into the mid-range ($42, $47 and $57). These prices and bidding action are telling of what is scarce and what is not. Still, I must admit that I was asleep on this one.

Here is BK384. The castle is quite
attractive to collectors. Pictorials
do not get any better than this!

     This brings us to the grand finale. As expected, cobwrightfortishe did not disappoint. Nearly 20 bidders were waiting. The top piece was the last of the series of Edinburgh castle CTs that he auctioned off about two weeks ago -- this one was dated 1795 with JG/DG on reverse (BK384). It was sharply detailed with some yellow and black toning that did not adversely impact its great eye appeal. Thirteen bids from 7 bidders vied for this one, but it came down to two collectors at the end with the under-bidder entering 7 bids within the last 45 minutes against a previously entered high dollar mark. The castle was hammered down at $159. All told, the five Edinburgh pieces (this one plus the four auctioned earlier) were dispersed into four collections. Here is the link: Edinburgh Castle Token BK384.

Going "Stag" anyone?
This one is not nearly as nice!

     The second big sale was also nabbed by the same bidder who had entered an early "high" bid. This piece, also from Edinburgh (more specifically, Canongate) depicted a stag within a shield and was dated 1764 on the reverse. Like the previous one, it is an iconic CT that is always popular (BK 388). Fourteen bids from 6 bidders competed with most of the action unfolding in the last few minutes. It was an evenly worn ("Fine" condition) piece with great patina and strong details -- much better than the one illustrated in Brook or the one sold in the Norweb collection. The hammer price? A whopping $154 -- big money, but for a worthy token that is hard to find nice. Here is the link: Canongate Stag CT.
     A round version of this stag token (BK387) had preceded the sale described above. It was a somewhat ruddy piece with some discoloration, but it attracted nine bids from 7 bidders to bring a strong price of $86. It was a round version of the square one and was dated 1727. The under-bidder on the one previously described got this one -- so hopefully, everyone was happy enough.
     Finally, another round CT from St. Cuthberts (also in Edinburgh) sold for $90 after five bidders entered twice as many bids to decide where this one was headed. It was a simple token with STC on the obverse (note: uppercase T) and 1776 on the reverse (BK385).
     Whew! Lots of action this week!