1035

Canvas Specimen Bag From the Paris Mint.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Hawaiian Territorial Coins & Currency Start Price:175.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 600.00 USD
Canvas Specimen Bag From the Paris Mint.
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Canvas Specimen Bag From the Paris Mint.
One of the most unusual pieces of Hawaiiana that we have seen. This specimen bag from the Paris Mint was used to transport patterns for the Hawaiian Nickel from the Paris Mint to the Hotel Continental on Rue Castiglione during King Kalakaua’s trip to France in 1881. Addressed to a member of the King’s retinue, the bag is stamped “ENCHANTILLON SANS VALEUR” (Specimens without Value – ironic, considering the prices that Hawaiian Nickels have brought for years). One can imagine Kalakaua and his advisors opening the bag enthusiastically and examining the very first coinage to bear the King’s portrait.

Lots 1029 through 1034 were stored in this bag for over 120 years!