Standish Barry was a Baltimore silversmith who struck these pieces in July 1790 — the exact date "JULY 4, 90" appears on the coin itself, making it one of the very few American tokens with a precise striking date recorded on the die. Barry almost certainly produced them to fill a chronic shortage of small-denomination silver in post-Revolutionary Maryland, where fractional coinage remained desperately scarce years after independence. No federal mint yet existed; it wouldn't be established until 1792.
Surviving examples are rare. Total known population remains in the low dozens across all grades.
Standish Barry was a Baltimore silversmith who struck these pieces in July 1790 — the exact date "JULY 4, 90" appears on the coin itself, making it one of the very few American tokens with a precise striking date recorded on the die. Barry almost certainly produced them to fill a chronic shortage of small-denomination silver in post-Revolutionary Maryland, where fractional coinage remained desperately scarce years after independence. No federal mint yet existed; it wouldn't be established until 1792.
Surviving examples are rare. Total known population remains in the low dozens across all grades.