Owner Comments:
TOKEN APPEARANCE/CONDITION:
Uncirculated+ — Type III (Aluminum) - Octagonal Shaped
*An all-around sharp silver colored aluminum piece in lower mint-state - The reverse interwoven detail inside the “5” is both well-defined and intricate. Areas/spots of darker toning can be observed on the obverse.*
TOKEN BACKGROUND:
Token used by “W.O. Leslie” in Denver, CO for 5C in trade circa 1897-1914 (sourced from the Denver Business Directory). The establishment was located at 230 16th Street, as shown on the obverse.
—————
Out of the entire W.O. Leslie series, there are three known 5C varieties; Type 1: brass with ¢ across '5'; Type II: brass, and Type III: aluminum), all are notably rare with an estimated survival rate between ~1-14 amongst all three. Both the 5C brass Type II and aluminum Type III are included in this collection (DE4690-5b and DE4690-5c). It should be noted only 1 example of the brass with ¢ across '5' variety (DE4690-5a) is bleieved to exist, making it extremely rare. — I hope to eventually obtain all three. The final issue of the W.O. Leslie series is an octagonal 12.5C variety which is also included in this collection.
—————
Of the 3 W.O. Leslie 5C varieties, 2 are included in this collection (Type II & III), along with the 12.5C issue. All are problem-free. Therefore, only the 5C Type III is missing. Their details are listed below:
——-
- Pritchard DE4690-5a/CMT UNL (5C Type I: Brass with ¢ across '5' - Round): ~1 Known (N/A)
- Pritchard DE4690-5b/CMT UNL (5C Type II: Brass - Round): ~14 Known (NGC MS-62)
- Pritchard DE4690-5c/CMT UNL (5C Type II: Aluminum - Octagonal): ~9 Known (NGC MS-61)
- Pritchard DE4690-12/CMT UNL (12.5C: Aluminum - Octagonal): ~12 Known (NGC AU-58)
CATALOG NUMBER(S):
Pritchard DE4690-5c
CMT UNL
RARITY: Pritchard estimates ~9 examples are known
NGC Census not available.
TOKEN DESCRIPTION:
(Aluminum, 27mm, Octagonal, Plain Edge)
OBVERSE: W.O. Leslie / 230 / 16th St.
REVERSE: Good for / 5¢ / in Trade (¢ in 5)
HISTORICAL TOWN/CITY BACKGROUND:
(Denver, Colorado):
"Industrious people used to pan for 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