In his introduction to the list,Jeff writes:

53. (i.e. 1863) Large Star Confederatio Cent, James Bolen Struck copy, Musante JAB-7, Kenney 2, W-14230. Rarity-6. Choice Extremely Fine. This is Q. David Bowers' own example of this very rare issue, now listed in the Whitman Encyclopedia. It was sold by Stack's Bowers in their January 2011 Americana sale, where it appeared as Lot 6599 and was described as follows:

One of just 30-40 examples struck in copper (Bolen's notebook gives the lower figure, while am 1882 work cited the higher number), these dies were defaced before they were sold, so no other perfect die state pieces could be struck. This example was worn down and almost certainly sold as an original at some point in the 19th century - easy enough to do prior to the publication of the Crosby reference which at least had an illustration of an original specimen that collectors could use to compare. But, as the Stack's Bowers cataloguer stated, this has the look and feel of a coin from the 1780s, on a copper planchet with the right look of the era, and the reverse centering of the Confederatio die a bit off, as one would expect for an original. Undoubtedly more than a few collectors were fooled by this piece, and in 1905 Bolen himself stated "although I have never thought or tried to pass one as genuine, I have often regretted having issued them as I have been informed that they have been worn or rubbed and made to look old, then sold as genuine." An Uncirculated example appeared in the November 2021 sale of the Anton collection and brought $3,840 (the description there well worth reading). This far more deceptive, lightly copy is more interesting to us, and one wonders just who it fooled!

67. 1792 Washington Roman Head Cent. Musante GW-21, Baker-19, W-1084. Rarity-6 as an original strike, probably of equal rarity as an electrotype. Choice About Uncirculated, an extremely well-made electrotype of this very rare and immensely popular coin, certainly the high water mark for the 1792 pattern issues, with finely engraved dies by the young John Gregory Hancock - though one could imagine that Washington's reluctance to have his image on a circulating coin would have been magnified a thousand-fold when that image was dressed up like a Roman emperor! Very light rub on the highest points, literally the definition of cabinet friction from a century or more of storage by collectors, but a lovely medium chocolate brown, the surfaces hard, but with some light hairlines that can only be seen with a glass. As an electrotype this lacks the normal lettered edge, and a faint seam where the two shells were joined can be seen on the plain edge. One of the legendary rarities of the Washington series, and a type where rarity usually joins condition - these were not made to circulate, though at least a couple did manage to slip into commerce (including a VG piece that sold at a Stack's auction in January 2009 for nearly $30,000!).

They were prized pieces for collectors in England, where they would have been collected alongside the popular Conder token series - though, oddly enough, the variety is not listed in Dalton and Hamer's work on those tokens (and even more oddly, the cover photo for the Quarterman reprint of that work is a Washington Roman Head cent - a piece not in the book itself!). By the 1860s, and likely a bit earlier than that, the type became known to American collectors - and an 1863 auction sold of one of these, likely an electrotype, as only a couple were known to American collectors. Indeed, an example was sold by W. Elliot Woodward in an 1864 auction for $480 - a sum that would have bought the unique 1794 silver dollar pattern in copper, plus a 1792 disme pattern, plus a half disme of the same year, with money left over! Today nice examples tend to sell in the $100,000 range, putting the 20 or so known examples out of the reach of most collectors. A lovely, carefully-made electrotype is not a bad way for those of us with much less deep pockets to obtain an example of this amazing artistic triumph in metal.

Walter Breen's fanciful claim of this being intended as a satirical piece has been widely disproven. Hancock was just 17 when these were made, and he clearly intended them for what they were. In Miss Banks's journals she notes only 6 were made - the number known today far exceeds that, and it is likely that Hancock or others struck further pieces to satisfy collectors.

Eric writes:

Tales of the Greatest Coin Robberies book cover

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
GREAT NUMISMATIC THEFTS(https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n08a15.html)
NNP ADDS SMITH'S NUMISMATIC ROGUES GALLERY(https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n53a05.html)
WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MARCH 24, 2024(https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n12a22.html)