Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790 Franklin Institute Souvenir Tokens and Die Pair by August Conrad Frank

Zoins

I've been looking for this die pair for years, not sure if they even still exist and I just found them having sold on Stack's back in 2014!

I'm a fan of these tokens and have picked up many over the years, so hopefully there will be an opportunity to pick these up to add to the collection some time.

Anyone know who has this?

Die Pair for Undated Benjamin Franklin Memorial Souvenir Medal. Mint State.

This die pair is quite similar to the familiar souvenir medal struck by the Philadelphia Franklin Institute, on the 1830 first Philadelphia Mint steam coin press, though the bust of Franklin is considerably smaller, and the die work is lower in relief. The pair has been lightly defaced by grinding down some of the edges.

Also included in this lot are an example struck by this die pair in aluminum, 19mm, Mint State; and an original Benjamin Franklin souvenir medal struck by the Philadelphia Franklin Institute in bronze, 19mm, Extremely Fine.

(no date) Benjamin Franklin Memorial Souvenir Medal - Double Struck Error

Here's one of my collection and currently my favorite of many.

coinsarefun

First I’ve seen these, I like them! Maybe you will get lucky and they will come up for auction.
Or, can you contact Stacks and ask them?

NumisOxide

Very cool!

seanq

Somewhere I have one of these double struck on center with about 90 degrees rotation between strikes, if I can lay hands on it I'll add a picture to the thread.

Sean Reynolds

ricko

@Zoins.... Good luck in your search - you need a 'coin detective' to conduct this search... Cheers, RickO

Zoins

@ricko said:
@Zoins.... Good luck in your search - you need a 'coin detective' to conduct this search... Cheers, RickO

Great idea! I know of one on our forums

Dali

@Zoins Hello brother, I saw your publication of tokens with error and I have a very serious one, can you help me to know if it has value?

rjayers64

I have three of thjose coins in AU condition. Still learning more about them and still wondering are they minted in the early 1800 or 1900's?

rjayers64

@rjayers64 said:
I have three of those coins in AU condition. Still learning more about them and still wondering are they minted in the early 1800 or 1900's?

rjayers64

@rjayers64 said:
I have three of those coins in AU condition. Still learning more about them and still wondering are they minted in the early 1800 or 1900's?

jonathanb

These were produced recently, in the late 1900s or possibly even in the 2000s.

Zoins

@jonathanb said:
These were produced recently, in the late 1900s or possibly even in the 2000s.

The following company indicates that August C. Frank's company was purchased by MACO in 1972.

Ref: https://www.globalgemology.com/a.html#/

A.C. FRANK

Hallmark(s): "A.C. Frank"

Information: August Conrad Frank moved to America from Germany in 1893. A year later, in 1894, he founded the A.C. Frank Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A.C. Frank was a master engraver and diesinker who designed and produced medals. After his death, the company was taken over by his sons and was ultimately sold to Medallic Art Company in 1972.

Also, it seems like these dies were not used to directly strike the many tokens that exist since they don't say "Aug. C. Frank" under Franklin's bust. So these could either be master dies from which working dies were made, or they could be done at a separate time to strike tokens that don't say "Aug. B. Frank". Has anyone seen any tokens without "Aug. C. Frank"?

Here's a token from Etsy that shows the commonly found tokens that say "Aug. C. Frank":

Ref: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1083949103/benjamin-franklin-1706-1790-souvenir

jfriedm56

Only have this one that has Aug. C. Frank under his portrait.

BFrank

These tokens seem very plentiful, and I suspect were made over a long period, first in bronze and finally in aluminum. The bulding represented on the back of the token was opened in 1931, so it is unlikely that these were produced before that year. August Frank died in 1946, so they must have first appeared before that time. I think it unlikely that the Aug C Frank on the token would have been put there after his death merely because the design came out of the company he founded.

Anyway, the style (I think) would be different if it was originally produced after, say, 1960.

Not of that enables me to do what I really want to do, which is know what year(s) these were produced, whether the white metal and aluminum versions were produced at the same time as the bronze one, or later.

So if anyone has run into any account of these things, I'd like to know!

Namvet69

I've dug several in bronze cause I detect in Bucks county. Gonna check them for that name or lack thereof.

CaptHenway

The August C. Frank company survived long after his death. Robert Bashlow had many of his pieces struck by them in the early 1960's. The name on the dies could represent the company, not the man.

Zoins

@CaptHenway said:
The August C. Frank company survived long after his death. Robert Bashlow had many of his pieces struck by them in the early 1960's. The name on the dies could represent the company, not the man.

I wonder if anyone still has stories of meeting the people at the company.