1790 Regulated Joseph Callendar $2.33 Great Britain, KM # 608, NGC XF45. This gold half guinea (1790 Regulated Joseph Callendar $2.33 Great Britain) circulated in the early years after the Constitution became operative and was regulated by Joseph Callendar. The host coin is a half guinea of King George III of England. It has been graded XF45 by NGC because it shows light wear on the high points. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no abrasion marks worthy of individual mention. Callendars initials, JC in script are strongly punched at an angle to the right just below the Kings ear. The impression, which is slightly raised on the obverse, caused a slight flatness on the reverse partially obliterating the center right portion of the spade arms. Unlike most regulated coins, this specimen was not clipped because it was 63.6 grains or 4.1212 grams, which equaled $2.33.

Coins from Brazil, Portugal, Spain, France, and England all circulated concurrently in early America. However, each had a different weight and fineness making trade extremely inconvenient. The problem was first dealt with in colonial times, when coins were regulated. This practice continued after Independence. A goldsmith or silversmith would drill a coin and add gold in the form of a plug to increase its weight. If it was then overweight, he would clip and/or file its edge. Thus, coins were regulated to certain standards. The plugs that were added were then stamped with a hallmark indentifying the regulator who guaranteed the gold content of the piece. Regulators were also jewelers and highly thought of members of the community; they included John Bayley, Ephraim Brasher. John Burger, Joseph Callendar, John David Jr., Lewis Feuter, Myer Myers, Thomas Pons, Thomas Underhill, and William Hollingshead.

The host coin is a 1790 half guinea from Great Britain (KM# 608). The name originated from the Guinea region of West Africa, where a good deal of the gold used to make the coins came from. The guinea was the first machine made gold coin and was originally worth one English Pound Sterling, which is equal to twenty shillings. However, because the price of gold continued to rise sometimes as high as thirty shillings, the guineas value was fixed at twenty-one shillings from 1717 to 1816.

After that, with the gold standard adopted, guinea stopped being used as a monetary term and became colloquial. The coin shows the third laureate profile bust of King George facing right. The inscription GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA, which means George III, by the grace of God, is separated by dots and surrounds the portrait. The reverse shows the crowned quartered shield of arms. The reverse legend is F D B ET L D S R I A T ET E M B F ET H REX, which means King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Luneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector.

Usually numismatists are concerned primarily about a coins quality. In fact, today a perfect coin is given a grade of Mint State 70. Coins that are holed, clipped, filed, plugged, and counter stamped have considerably diminished value to most collectors. Most coins in these categories are considered undesirable and would not be certified by any of the major grading services except in the details category.  However, in the realm of regulated gold coins, all of the previous notions of quality and appeal must be abandoned in favor of a different set of assumptions. Even counterfeit coins have been regulated and are highly collectible today. Obviously a regulated coin cannot be in Mint State condition. The host coin must be described in detail and, if possible, graded separately from the plug or plugs.

Regulated coins have been found in collections of famous collectors and numismatists. These include Virgil M. Brand, Louis Eliasberg, John J. Ford Jr., John Work Garrett, Waldo Newcomer, and John L. Roper. Edward Roehrs had an excellent collection of regulated coins that was auctioned in 2010 at the ANA Boston Worlds Fair of Money.

It seems unusual to modern sensibility that colonists and citizens of the early republic would have silver tankards, beakers, and porringers; however, it should be noted that these items represented a persons surplus wealth. Since there were no banks where a colonist could keep hard money, they took all their surplus coins to a silversmith and had them melted and made into useful objects. Since paper money often depreciated, savings were safer if invested in silver plate where they could also be useful in the home. In case of a theft, silver could easily be identified by the hallmark and engraving and recovered. If cash were needed, the silver could be taken to a silversmith and be reconverted into money. The silversmith had to be a man of highest integrity because he was expected to turn a certain quantity of silver plate into coin or the opposite.

Joseph Callendar (also spelled Callender) of Boston, Massachusetts (1751-1821) was a silversmith who was active from 1771 to 1821. He was both a silversmith and engraver, who trained under Nathaniel Hurd and Paul Revere. In the Boston Independent Chronicle of September 23, 1784 Callendar announced that he had moved from Cornhill to the shop formerly improved by Mr. N. Hurd at Half Square, back of Mr. Shipmans school, State Street, where he carries on Engraving, Seal Cutting, and Copperplate Printing in all its Branches. Callendar is listed in the 1800 Boston city directory as an engraver at 14 Federal Street. He engraved at least twenty-two bookplates and in 1784 made the seal for the Bank of Massachusetts.

The 1790 half guinea coin regulated to $2.33 has been given the grade of XF45 by NGC. The grading services do not list regulated coins in their population reports; however, one can assume that this coin is extremely rare and probably unique.