Lot 203 - Canada, Anticosti Islands. Quebec CU ⅛ Penny token. 1870A.

Canada, Anticosti Islands. Quebec CU ⅛ Penny token. 1870A. Roman Soldier bust left with date below / A above wreath containing denomination in circle. KM X Pn1. 1.65g, 14.14mm, 12h. Uncirculated. Light traces of red lustre. Very Rare provincial issue. Complete with an original Seaby collectors ticket denoting the sale or plate number for £27.50 and reference: 3/74 Bulletin, p.97. This attribution seems to originate with a coin dealer in 1890. The A on the reverse is thought to be for Anticosti and the attribution has been accepted. However, the island was largely uninhabited so that there would seem to be little call for a local coinage. The letter A has also been interpreted as the mint mark of the Paris Mint but it appears too large to serve this function. It has been argued that the tokens were struck in New York by Lovett using dies intended for a Honduras coinage of 1/8th Real (see KM#30 of Honduras but this issue began in 1869 and the mint mark is the usual small letter A) presumably between 1870 and 1890 (there are marks on the obverse suggestive of rusting on the dies). The die work is not of high quality and seems unlikely to be from a major mint.