1813 Dump design type D/2, ranked as 'number 2' in the pecking order of D/2 Dumps and with a revered pedigree

The buyer of this 1813 Dump will take pride in knowing that the coin was formerly held as part of the legendary J. J. Ford Collection.

High profile collectors are noted for holding only the very best. John J. Ford was a major force in numismatics in the USA for 68 years both as a professional numismatist and a consummate collector. That this coin was part of the J. J. Ford Collection speaks volumes to its calibre.

The buyer will also take pride in knowing that this Dump was exhibited in 2019, at the Royal Australian Mint Canberra, in the 'All That Is Holey' Exhibition. 

The coin was a natural contender for inclusion in the exhibition. It was struck from the very rare D/2 dies. And with a quality grading of Extremely Fine is clearly one of the best.

Historians have determined that four individual dies were used in the striking of the 1813 Dump.

The A/1 Dump is the most frequently sighted (75% of cases). Next in line for availability is the D/2 dies (20%).  Then comes the C/4 and E/3 dies that while incredibly rare, produced coins that were extremely crude.

This coin is an exceptional piece for it has design detail and shows a finesse in the striking that is not normally seen in the D/2 type.

Historians argue that the D/2 design types were most likely the first coins produced, since the majority of specimens reflect one major design characteristic. The legend and the date tend to be partially struck because the dies were too big for the blank. And the denticles (introduced as a security measure) are almost always absent.

On this Dump, however, the legend and the date are well contained in the coin and the denticles are crisp and clear.

A pecking order exists amongst top echelon Colonial Dumps. This particular example, with a quality level of Extremely Fine, ranks as Number 2 of the known surviving D/2 examples.

The Dump with a value of fifteen pence circulated widely in the colony, the extreme wear on most Dumps evidence that they saw considerable use.

Not so with this Dump. In the hand the coin is stunning, its state of preservation simply miraculous. The fields are highly reflective with grey / blue toning, the coin mint fresh for quality. 

Under the eye glass, this Dump continues to shine. We note the  the far right edge of the horizontal cross on the orb at the top of the crown. Most collectors would not even be aware that, as with the 1852 Adelaide Pound, the Dump design includes a cross on the orb at the top of the crown.

And there is a 'stop' in the legend 'NEW SOUTH WALES' after 'NEW' and after 'SOUTH'. The dies would have had shallow depressions to create the stops and must have quickly filled with debris for they can be difficult - or impossible - to discern on even the best of D/2 examples.

There is no doubt that heat was involved in the creation of the Dump. When the disc fell out of the centre of the Spanish Dollar, it still bore the original dollar design of a four quadrant shield, depicting a lion and castle in each quadrant. High temperatures obliterated the original Spanish Dollar design from most Dumps.

This Dump has extensive evidence of the original Spanish Dollar design on the obverse, which from an aesthetic perspective, we favour. That evidence includes the cross-bars of the shield and the lion's tail and the castle.

1813 Dump design type D/2, Extremely Fine, ranked number two for its type and with a revered pedigree, ex J. J. Ford Collection.

Price $95,000

13 January, 2004 was a watershed moment for the 1813 Dump when two of the absolute finest D/2 Dumps were offered at Stacks, New York opening auction for the year. 

Always viewed as the passive partner to the higher denomination Holey Dollar, the D/2 Dumps, forced a market-rethink about their status and the price at which top quality Dumps can - and should - command. 

Both coins, the former property of revered US collector J. J. Ford exhibited an exceptional strike and were brilliantly preserved and reached previously unheard of price levels. 

The coins put top quality 1813 Dumps 'on the map' on a worldwide scale. And this coin is one of them.