The Silver Coinage of John Chalmers 1783

obverse 500 dpi 250 dpi

reverse 500 dpi 250 dpi

1783                              Chalmers Short Worm Shilling

Obverse:  [geometric design in the shape of an 8 with stops in the bows and to the sides] ONE [flower design] SHILLING [geometric design in the shape of an 8 with stops in the bows and to the sides] 1783 .
Reverse:  I . CHALMERS, ANNAPOLIS . [flower design]

Weight:  50.3 g   (3.26 grams)             Diameter:  22.0 mm             Reverse die alignment: 200°

Comments:  This variety can be distinugished in that on the reverse the hedge extends from N to N, while on the long worm variety it extends from N to the second I. The edge is reeded by hand with a file. On the obverse in CHALMERS the final stroke of the M was poorly made. Also, to make the letter R Chalmers used a P punch and cut the final stroke into the die. On the reverse there are three extra half beads just outside of the inner beaded circle to the right of the snake head. Also, there is a small die break connecting the bottom serifs of the I and N in SHILLING.

Chalmers appears to have used different punches for each letter, note the difference in the center strokes of the E's on either side of the coin. Also note the H in SHILLING has a left vertical stroke that leans and a thin horizontal stroke while the H in CHALMERS is straight with a thick horizontal stroke; also the final vertical stroke in that H has serifs that extend further to the right than in the previous example. Again note that in the second A in ANNAPOLIS the two side strokes narrow near the base and are not fully connected to the bottom serifs. This is unlike the other A's (which are also notched at the top). Similar remarks can be made for just about every letter.

Provenance:  From the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Collection.

Rhode Island Ship Token	Section Contents	Nova Constellatio Patterns