The 1815 Ships Colonies And Commerce Token, Breton 995 (Pe-9A)

I recently jumped at the chance to grab this higher-grade example of Breton 995. One of my nicer pickups to date! This token was struck from worn and rusted dies, hence the lack of detail (heavy rust is evident around "HALF___NNY" on the reverse.) It shares an obverse with Breton 996 which has an interesting reverse die link to an Isle of Man token issued in 1830, which was discussed in a relatively recent thread on here (http://goccf.com/t/374029). Hence, the tokens are likely antedated. Both Br-995 and 996 are assigned to PEI, and are somewhat overshadowed by Br-997, the popular Ships Colonies & Commerce tokens, with whom they share their obverse legend.


For comparison is the example in the upcoming Doug Robins Part II sale, graded NGC AU55.


I purchased mine with a grade of EF40 in mind, but it appears to be on par with the Robins example. In hand, the surfaces are pretty exceptional. Really tough to accurately grade these guys (especially via photo) but I try to pay attention to the sharpness of the date on the obverse and detail in the floral ornaments of the reverse plus the surface rust. Any other opinions are welcome!

An interesting thing I came across is that there appear to be two distinct die states of Br-995. Below is an example sold in 2012 from the Temple collection (PCGS AU50-but likely nicer). Notice the spectacular detail and the rust-free reverse which shows the PE of HALFPENNY. Notably, the top-right serif of the first M in COMMERCE is perfect, while it is cut off in the two previous examples.


Even after scouring the internet, this remains the only example of this early state that I've come across. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else has noticed this or has an example of it.

Below are closeups of the M's for comparison. That of Breton 996 is in the middle (taken from the brass example up for grabs in the Doug Robins Part II sale.)

This, among other markers (eg. die polish(?) marks right of the obverse ship of the later state of Br 995), makes it clear that Br-996 with the Isle of Man reverse was struck between at least two die states of Br-995, the latter of which had deteriorated significantly.


Just an interesting observation that I thought I'd share for those interested in the series, and I'm pretty happy about the new addition to my collection! If you also happen to have one of these, feel free to share!