Conservation Showcase: 1794 Talbot, Allum & Lee Cents

BEFORE CONSERVATION
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AFTER CONSERVATION
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A popular issue in the colonial coin series, the Talbot, Allum and Lee Cents of 1794 and 1795 are British-made tokens created for a merchant in New York City. The tokens were made to the same size standards as the contemporary British ½ Penny. When the merchants were left with a surplus of tokens, many were sold to the mint to make planchets for regular-issue copper coins, including issues today of the 1797 ½ cent that can be found struck over cut down Talbot, Allum and Lee Cents.

This example of the 1794 Talbot, Allum and Lee Cent was submitted to NCS to take care of residues and the early signs of surface corrosion. Residue removal and removal of the pale green specks seen near the legends and denticles left a coin with bright, pleasing, evenly colored surfaces. Following conservation, this coin was able to grade numerically with NGC.