1794 Talbot Allum & Lee - Lettered Edge No New York Cent

Coin Details

Description

Issued by the prominent New York-based import-export firm of Talbot, Allum and Lee, this 1794 copper cent with lettered edge and without the "NEW YORK" inscription is cataloged as Whitman 8600 and Breen 1035, identified as PCGS #634. Struck in copper at 10.5 grams with a 29 mm diameter, the lettered edge bears an inscription that served both as a design element and an anti-shaving device. Talbot, Allum and Lee operated an East India trade business and commissioned these tokens as both advertising media and practical small change during the chronic shortage of official copper coinage that plagued American commerce in the 1790s. The obverse typically features a standing figure with a bale of goods representing commerce, while the reverse displays a ship under sail — imagery directly referencing the firm's maritime trading operations. The "No New York" distinction identifies a die variety that omits the city name found on other versions, a variation whose origin may reflect either an intentional design choice for broader geographic circulation or simply the use of a different die that excluded the locality reference. Moderately scarce as the No New York variant, this piece occupies an important position in the Conder token tradition that migrated from British to American commerce during the 1790s, when private merchants stepped in to fill the void left by insufficient federal coinage output in the early years of the Philadelphia Mint's operation.

Rarity Notes

Moderately scarce. No New York variety.

Cross References

Whitman 8600; Breen 1035