2017-08-02 Wed

After spotting a rare coin in an auction catalogue, David McCarthy just knew it that he had stumbled upon the first coin minted by the United States of America in 1783. McCarthy, a coin collector bought the silver coin for $ 1.18 million.

The Associated Press writes:

McCarthy prepared himself to face his boss Donald Kagin and finally convinced him that the coin up for auction was the nation’s first. But there was little opposition from the dealers, who claimed it was a forgery. But the initial explanation was that mints tended to add inscriptions to the steel dies used to make coins after having engraved the images. He spent the next four years digging up evidence to prove that he had indeed purchased the fabled first "500" quint.

McCarthy had a hawk’s eye while understanding the details of the coin as it had no inscription on the front. A similar coin, with a Latin inscription that translates "New Constellation," was found in 1860. The one McCarthy bought was found about 15 years later and was therefore designated "quint Type 2.

He browsed through the National Archives, but didn’t get a sure answer. But after reviewing the receipts for the steel dies used to make the coin, he found evidence that two of the dies had been recycled and refined after the first coin was struck.

He compared the beadings on the edges of the different coins, as well as a dent in the eye at the center of the [inscribed] "500" coin and its plain cousin. The evidence all pointed to him, having uncovered the nation's first coin.

The coin was also mentioned in the diary of Robert Morris, a Philadelphia merchant who financed the American Revolution and signed the Declaration of Independence. From 1781 to 1784, when the young nation was still governed by the Articles of Confederation, Morris served as the superintendent of finance for the United States.

The first Treasury secretary of the United States Alexander Hamilton examined the coin six years ago and visited Morris to convey that.

A fuller set of coins was minted on April 22 and forwarded to Thomas Jefferson so a third Founding Father could weigh in on the design.

Morris' coin was meant to demonstrate a prototype numerical currency system that would be based on the so-called Spanish dollar.

How much is McCarthy's quint worth? ANA's Garrett says the closest comparison might be a 1794 U.S. silver dollar that sold for $10 million four years ago. It's not just the coin itself, but the story that goes with it that makes it valuable, Garrett says.

And there's no question that if McCarthy is right, his quint has a fascinating story to tell.