Owner Comments:
TOKEN APPEARANCE/CONDITION:
Almost Uncirculated+ — Type II (Brass)
*Attractive specimen with pleasing chocolate brown surfaces and sharp detail on both the obverse/reverse. Small areas of carbon spotting can be seen on the obverse, as well as very light wear at the high points, yet only seem to add to the original and historic character of the piece.*
TOKEN BACKGROUND:
Token used at the “Airmen's Open Mess” of Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, CO for 10C in trade.
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Pritchard estimates just ~1 example is believed to have survived. If true, you’re looking at it! A true rarity under any classification; particularly being completely problem free which can be difficult with early 20th century trade tokens since they frequently circulated.
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There are 4 “Lowry Air Force Base: Airmen’s Open Mess” issues in this collection which are listed by catalog number below; from Pritchard and the CMT (Colorado Merchant Token) guide. Each denomination was struck in both brass and aluminum (5C, 10C, 25C). The brass/aluminum varieties for the 5C issue are both included in this collection, as well as the brass variety for all 3 denominations. The 10C brass variety and the 25C aluminum are by far the rarest; with just 1 example of each known to exist. The 10C brass is included in the collection but the 25C aluminum is not. I am still pursuing the aluminum issues for the 10C and 25C varieties.
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- Pritchard DE1066-5a/CMT DE142a (5C Brass) Type I - Examples Known: 8 (NGC MS-61) - Included in Collection
- Pritchard DE1066-5b/CMT DE142b (5C Aluminum) Type II - Examples Known: 6 (NGC MS-61) - Included in Collection
- Pritchard DE1066-10a/CMT DE142d (10C Aluminum) Type I - Examples Known: 6 - NOT Included in Collection
- Pritchard DE1066-10b/CMT UNL (10C Brass) Type II - Examples Known: 1 (NGC AU-55) - Included in Collection
- Pritchard DE1066-25a/CMT UNL (25C Aluminum) Type I - Examples Known: 1 - NOT Included in Collection
- Pritchard DE1066-25b/CMT DE142e (25C Brass) Type II - Examples Known: 9 (NGC MS-63) - Included in Collection
CATALOG NUMBER(S):
Pritchard DE1066-10b
CMT (Unlisted)
RARITY: Pritchard estimates ~1 example is known
NGC Census not available.
TOKEN DESCRIPTION:
(Brass, 26mm, Round, Plain Edge)
OBVERSE: Airmen’s Open Mess / Lowry / Air Force / Base / Denver, Colorado
REVERSE: 10¢ in Trade (ITAV)
HISTORICAL TOWN/CITY BACKGROUND:
(Denver, Colorado):
“Industrious people used to pan the gold that washed off the capital building roof until the state put a gold recovery system in to recover gold leafing weathered off the building.” — Credited Source: Stuart Pritchard