Colonial, 1785 (1862), JAB-2, AJN-2 ELJ-2, exonumia, MS61 BN, NGC

Colonial, 1785 (1862)-exonumia, MS61, BN, JAB-2, AJN-2 ELJ-2, Colonial, "1785 (1862)-exonumia, MS61, BN, JAB-2, AJN-2 ELJ-2, NGC. Original Bar Cents were produced in England in the years following the American Revolution and circulated alongside a wide variety of private tokens and early state coinage. This facsimile was masterfully executed in 1862 by famed Philadelphia die sinker John A. Bolen. Bolen produced several varieties struck in multiple metals, including silver, copper, nickel, brass, and tin.

These copies proved so convincing that after selling several examples in one of his auctions, William Woodward purchased the dies directly from Bolen. Woodward subsequently forwarded the dies to George H. Lovett, son of Robert Lovett, the engraver who famously cut the dies for the Confederate cent. Lovett was instructed to destroy the dies and is believed to have done so.

In his authoritative reference The Medallic Work of John Adams Bolen, Neil Musante estimates that between 40 and 65 pieces survive today, NGC.