1795 Talbot, Allum & Lee Cent. Fuld-1, W-8620. Lettered Edge: WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ONE CENT.

1795 Talbot, Allum & Lee Cent. Fuld-1, W-8620. Lettered Edge: WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ONE CENT. Proof-64 BN (PCGS).，This beautiful example reveal intense reflectivity in the fields as the coin dips into a light. Pretty rose-apricot and iridescent gray-brown colors blend over surfaces that are fully defined with an overall smooth appearance to the eye. Imported from England and used somewhat in commerce in New York City, though large quantities of the issue were purchased by the United States Mint and cut down; numerous half cents exist with the TAL undertype. An appealing specimen.<p>The partnership of Talbot, Allum & Lee, formed in 1794 and operated only until 1796, was composed of William Talbot, William Allum, and James Lee, who engaged in the India trade in lower Manhattan at 241 Pearl Street. Tokens dated 1794 and 1795, bearing the standing figure of Commerce on the obverse and a fully rigged sailing ship on the reverse, were struck in Birmingham and imported into America. On this side of the Atlantic they were sufficiently plentiful at one time that the Philadelphia Mint gathered examples and cut planchets for half cents from them, such half cent emissions being dated 1795 and 1797. For extensive information see Q. David Bowers, <em>The Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins</em>.，，