(1694) Token Elephant - Brass

Coin Details

Auction Record

$21,600 • MS61 NGC • 08-2019 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Extremely rare in brass — rated R.8 with only a handful of confirmed specimens — this London Elephant Token represents one of the rarest metal varieties in the entire Elephant Token series. Cataloged as W-12045, Hodder 2-B, and Breen 189, the brass composition produces a distinctly yellow appearance that immediately sets it apart from the standard copper issues struck from the same thick planchet Hodder 2-B die combination. The existence of brass specimens indicates either experimental or special-purpose production at the facility that manufactured the Elephant Tokens, where the standard copper planchets were replaced with brass blanks for a small number of strikings whose purpose remains unclear — they may have been presentation pieces, die trials on available metal, or a deliberate attempt to produce tokens in a more visually attractive alloy. The London Elephant Tokens, produced around 1694, feature an elephant on the obverse and the legend "GOD PRESERVE LONDON" on the reverse, and they circulated in both England and the American colonies. Among the rarest Elephant Token varieties, brass examples are pursued by advanced colonial specialists who collect across metal compositions to document the full range of production at the originating facility. This piece belongs to the Pre-1776 Private and Regional Issues (1616-1766) series and represents a numismatic prize whose extreme rarity ensures that each confirmed example carries significant scholarly and market interest within the colonial American collecting community.

Rarity Notes

R.8. Extremely rare; only a handful of confirmed brass specimens known. Among the rarest Elephant Token varieties.

Cross References

W-12045, Hodder 2-B, Breen 189