1876 Centennial medals and medalettes

Zoins

"1876" Washington by Soley - Liberty Bell Medalet. Second Liberty Bell Die. Copper. 18 mm - Musante GW-470, Baker-403A PCGS MS64RB POP 1/0 - Ex-Holt

I recently picked up this Brian Holt token. It's an Anton Paquet bust attributed to George Soley and I was wondering how is the Soley connection made for this piece?

• Was this struck on the the 1876 International Expo in Philadelphia?
• Are the dies the same as other Soley pieces?

For full info, PCGS calls this MS64RB POP 1/0, but there is a higher grade in brown, a MS65BN POP 1/0, the nicely toned Baker specimen.

291fifth

The Liberty Bell isn't very well executed. The bottom portion of the bell is clumsily done.

Zoins

@291fifth said:
The Liberty Bell isn't very well executed. The bottom portion of the bell is clumsily done.

Which part?

It certainly doesn't flare out as much as the real bell does.

The also clapper doesn't seem to be as low as the token shows. In the token, it doesn't even hit the bell

291fifth

I'm surprised that the mint would have produced a medal based on a drawing of a bell that would have been rejected in a beginning drawing class. The attempt to show more of the clapper resulted in a severe distortion of the nearest portion of the bell's lower edge.

This type of drawing is taught in beginning drawing classes. I know because I have taken such a class.

thisistheshow

I like it.

Zoins

@291fifth said:
I'm surprised that the mint would have produced a medal based on a drawing of a bell that would have been rejected in a beginning drawing class. The attempt to show more of the clapper resulted in a severe distortion of the nearest portion of the bell's lower edge.

This type of drawing is taught in beginning drawing classes. I know because I have taken such a class.

Is this a US Mint issue?

As for realism, lots of coins don't look like photos. I think that's part of their charm.

Just think about many of the eagles on our coins

ricko

A nice medal. I have always attributed variances in the artists depictions the same as 'editorial license'... Cheers, RickO

thisistheshow

@Zoins I've never seen this before, thanks for sharing. I'd love to have a centennial token, and honestly never have looked into them much other than the few I see online. Good stuff!

Zoins

@ricko said:
A nice medal. I have always attributed variances in the artists depictions the same as 'editorial license'... Cheers, RickO

You're right. This is a medal and not a token so I've updated the title.

I think the editorial license is what makes these old pieces interesting. I wonder what he had to go on when making this.