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Any one recognize a possible 1826 medal?
Bsktmkr
Posts: 30 ✭✭
I came across an interesting medal that may be related to the 1826 U.S. Semicentennial (50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence). The image is not great, but a few points of interest include:
--the style of the eagle, common prior to 1825, less common later.
--the letter punches are distinctive and the As have a foot that angles upward slightly at the base of the right leg (the viewer's right).
--general look and feel seems more like 1826 than 1876.
But, it could just as well be a piece from 1876.
Has anyone seen one of these before or maybe have a lead on where I could learn more about the medal or its maker? I have a suspicion it could be from New York, but that is no more certain than its true date.
--the style of the eagle, common prior to 1825, less common later.
--the letter punches are distinctive and the As have a foot that angles upward slightly at the base of the right leg (the viewer's right).
--general look and feel seems more like 1826 than 1876.
But, it could just as well be a piece from 1876.
Has anyone seen one of these before or maybe have a lead on where I could learn more about the medal or its maker? I have a suspicion it could be from New York, but that is no more certain than its true date.
ANA E-1059458
0
Comments
The references are helpful.
Well, there are apparently three examples traced so far, which does make this a very rare medal. However, something as esoteric as this piece increases the chances that unknown examples are lingering in junk boxes throughout the land. In other words, if someone cannot find it in a Red Book or on the web, they just assume it is an old token with little value, and do not know how to price it, and buyers do not know what to offer.
So, here are the three traced examples. Note that the highest priced piece was sold in August 2011 for $1700 and change. It is also holed like the OP's example, which (to me) does support the 50th anniversary theory by cataloger in the 2011 Stack's sale (JK?). The Ford example is leaps-and-bounds above the other two examples with holes, yet it only realized $650 in 2005. Someone got a great deal!
Ford Sale - 5/2005
ANA Auction - August 2011
The example posted by Bsktmkr in the OP
AND a possible fourth example as noted by Keets in the 1978 Wayte Raymond sale part 2 (NASCA). I do not have the catalog, so I cannot tell if it is one of the above three pieces. Does anyone?
The medal is listed as "very rare" in this book.
I've seen a couple more since then, but I think this is probably still solidly R-7. It's biggest problem: it's not listed in any books. If this was known to Hibler and Kappen, it would be a famous rarity and every SCD collector would want one. Since they didn't know about it, it's an off-the-radar obscurity that plays to a very small audience.
There's little/no doubt in my mind that it's a product of the 1826 semi-centennial.
Betts medals, colonial coins, US Mint medals, foreign coins found in early America, and other numismatic Americana