The sun., 1908-05-10
MONEY A NEW YORKER WADE
Al q Premium Now. Though Uncle Sam
Rejected II.


New York has bean the birthplace OF
many curious coins Of private manufacture
which for a time have passed as money,
OF these no series is more interesting or
has left more metallic reminders than the
coins struck in the metal known a. 'Feucht-
wanger composition
In 1897 Dr. Lewis Feuchtwanger, New
York druggist and chemist. invented
white metal, very much OF the color oi
silver from a compound Of copper, Anc,
nickel and iron He struck a number OF
coins of the denominations Of one and three
cents. the latter being the first coin OF this
value ever issued in the United States
Specimens Of these coins he forw arded
to Congress with q petition that his metal
be adopted for United States subsidiary
coins instead Of copper. r. NJ, Patterson,
Director Of the Mint, reported adversely
on the petition. and the metal was rejected
BY the Government.
Dr.. Feuchtwanger continued to strike
coins Of the repudiated metal and many OF
the tradesmen's tokens OF the period were
also made Of the so-callOd American sill
YER some Of which are now OF considerable
rarity and value,
The rarest Of the regular Feuchtwanger
coins from she standpoint OF value Is a
three cent piece dated 1887 which shows an
eagle on the diverse On the reverse is a
laurel wreath. between the two ends Of
which is the Arabic figure s. The wreath
sncloses the words three Cents while
around the border is inscribed 'Feucht-
WanRers Composition" The edge Of the
coin is reeded, and a specimen In uncir-
culated condition has brought $40.
A similar variety Of the three cent piece
shows an eagle standing on rocks, with
the date 1897 beneath. On the reverse
there is wreath. but the figure ) Is
omitted from between the ends OF the
wreath. This variety when in fine condi-
ton ia worth SO.
The next piece in point Of value is what
evidently was struck as a tradesmans
token for use in this city. In seven lines.
on the diverse. the inscription reads;
'Feuchtwanger American Silver Com
position Cortlandt St. New York The
r.yerse. in six lines, ia inscribed House
and Household Furniture, Instruments,
Beer Pumps, Pillars, Crates. Spoons, Forks
and Dining Sets This piece, which 10
about the size OF a half dollar. mas
brought SIC.
Another tradesmans token OF rare va
riety. somewhat similar 10 the reverse
OF the foregoing piece, shows the inscrlp-
ton on the diverse "Dr. Feuchtwanger. 5
American Silver Composition, S77 Broad
way, New York
One variety Of the three cent piece, while
not rare. is OF interest to New Workers,
for it is a New York three cent piece. show, how,
ing on the diverse the arms Of New York
with the word Excelsior and the date
1897 underneath,
The commonest OF the FeuchtwangeT
pieces are those Of the denomination Of
one cent, the principal design OF which
shows an eagle grasplng snake.
The scarcest Of the FeuchtwAnger pieces,
not considering premium, is three cent
piece Of the 1887 issue struck in copper, OF
which only one specimen has been men
The record price paid for q coin struck in
| Feuchtwanger metal Is S12.50, which was
| Maid for a specimen OF the philadelphia
| shillinR" at the Morris sale held in Phila-
dephia in 1905. This piece shows the arms
Of the city Of Philadelphia on one side, while
the other bears the inscription around the
edge. CORPORATION of Philadelphia in
the centre Being stamped the words. 'one
Shilling Token.
A second variety. bearing the arms OF
PHILADELPHIA, like the foregoing. showed
on tbe reverse a wreath in the centre Of
which are the letters "F s. (which are sup
posed 10 stand for "FeuohtwAnger Silver
/ and 80 Cents" This variety also is very
rare, and a fne specimen sold for N75O
at the same sale as its companion coin.
In 1897 New York Arm struck from the
| Feuchtwanger metal a coin representing
| the denomination OF i2li cents. On the OBJ
verse was an eagle holding in it's talons
a snake with the date 1881 On the re-
verse was the inscription 'R. E. Russell,
| /, o, q. l2Xo.' II was a little larger than
| the old time copper cent. At recent sale
a fine specimen brought sll
Another token struck In FeuchtWanger
metal was the 'RoIbury Coaches. piece,
! This was the same size a. the Russell token,
| on the diverse showing an ornamentation
In the field, with 'Roxbury' above and
Coaches below. The reverBe bore an
ornamental GROSS In the centre Of the field,
with sNeW Line above and 1887 below,
The tokens were issued by an omnibus line
whose coaches made hourly trips between
Boston and RoXbury, Mass. Still another
coach token associated with Boston and
struck 10 FeuchtwanRer metal shows the
inscription. East Boston 1887 on the OBJ
verse. while the other side bears the inscrip
ton, shaNSrick Coach ioof.' ...