Lot 3002

Colonials 1776 $1 Continental Dollar, CURENCY, Pewter, Newman 1-C, W-8445, R.3, MS63 NGC. CAC. Silver-gray surfaces are replete with excellent mint luster and contain highlights of blue-steel in the fields. Abrasions are minimal, and a small nick under the L in CONTINENTAL barely merits mention. Superb eye appeal has gained this wonderful Continental dollar a CAC sticker.      Historically, these Continental dollars were thought to be fiat money issued by the Continental Congress to assert American sovereignty, replacing the $1 note that was omitted from the Continental Currency issues of July 22, 1776 through September 26, 1778. However, more recent research has cast doubt on this assumption. Authors Erik Goldstein and David McCarthy have cited previously unpublished statements from contemporary numismatists such as Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere and Sarah Sophia Banks, as well as a leaflet in Banks' archives, held at the British Museum. From these records, the authors concluded that the Continental Dollars were actually souvenir medals struck in England around 1783. However, in the second edition of The Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins, Q. David Bowers supports the fiat currency theory. He cites that the edges of these coins are consistent with coins of the time, and not with medals, the coins are denominated as currency, there is no record of sales in the United States (where Goldstein and McCarthy state they were sold), and they could not have been sold profitably as souvenirs at the sixpence cost cited in the Banks leaflet.      Newman's 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C comprise the CURENCY type, with this word misspelled on the obverse. These three varieties actually represent different die states of the same die pairing, but with some details reengraved. On Newman 1-A, the rings with the names of the states are comprised of dotted lines. On Newman 1-B, the die was reworked to connect the dots into solid lines, but evidence of the dots still remain. On the present Newman 1-C, additional lapping and recutting has eliminated the dots and strengthened the lines. This coin's incredible surfaces make it an incredible opportunity for the discerning colonial collector. Among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. Listed on page 23 of the 2026 Guide Book. From The Presidio Collection, Part II. www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice https://coins.ha.com/itm/colonials/1776-1-continental-dollar-curency-pewter-newman-1-c-w-8445-r3-ms63-ngc-cac/a/1393-3002.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-USCoins-1393-04292026 HID02906262019 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Certification number: NGC 3259182001