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 Replies: 8 / Views: 5,943 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2217 Posts |
Here's one I got very cheaply - just over two quid for this little piece of history in copper. An 1847 Cent of the freed-slaves colony Liberia: not bad value! However, the most important thing is the grade - I have a good XF one of these that cost me over 50 dollars, but this doesn't look quite as hot. Not bad though! What would you say for the grade of this one?   |
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
2217 Posts |
Does nobody want to comment on the condition of this? An interesting coin   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
I am certainly not familar with it but I would call it a nice VF. The mix of incuse and relief is interesting. The capped Liberty motif has definite US influences. This has to be one of the earliest coins from Liberia, right?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2217 Posts |
U.S. influences? You refer to Liberty which was initially "borrowed" from the French? Yes these were one of the earliest coins though there were also some tokens produced just as Liberia came into being as a nation for the re-settlement of freed slaves.  From https://www.britishmuseum.orgLiberia was established in 1821-22 as a settlement for slaves who had been freed from the United States of America. The colony gained independence in 1847 and became the first republic on the continent of Africa. The country expanded with the aim of abolishing the slave trade on the west coast of Africa.
Initially the coins circulating in Liberia were American dollars and cents. However, in 1833 the American Colonization Society began to produce low-value copper tokens especially for use in Liberia. The coins were valued as cent pieces.
One side of this copper cent identifies the American Colonization Society as the issuer and gives the denomination. The other side shows a figure planting a palm tree with a ship in the background, and has the inscription LIBERIA and the year of issue, 1833.
In 1896 Liberia began to issue its own official currency, continuing the use of the cent, and adding silver 10, 25 and 50 cent pieces. To this day, Liberian currency is based on the US dollar.Edited by NumisMattyUk
07/02/2008 3:51 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1840 Posts |
All-in-all a very attractive coin. I'd call it VF details. There looks to be some verdigris from 6-7 o'clock on the obverse.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Quote:
U.S. influences? You refer to Liberty? Which was "borrowed" from the French? I admit that I am not too familiar with French designs but I have never seen a French coin before the mid-late 1800s with anything but a king or a Napoleon on it. The US used Liberty even before the conclusion of the French Revolution. Granted, we did borrow some of the libertarian ideas from France. Of course, the Phrygian cap did not originate in France or the US- it dates back to Rome and Greece. Now, if there are depictions of Liberty on early French coinage, I would love to see some examples  Edited by biokemist6
07/02/2008 4:07 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2217 Posts |
You've seen a French coin with Napoleon on it before 1800? :P
I'm not an expert on French coins but they are known to have about 3 of the Libery-type
'matrons' including Liberty and the one the was supposed to have led the storming of the bastille.
Maybe someone will come along and fill them in.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1840 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
Very nice looking coin! It almost strikes me as being a cross between a British Cartwheel penny from 1797 and a US Large Cent (though I realize that there is no seated figure on the obverse or reverse). |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 5,943 |
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Posted 07/01/2008 3:51 pm
