Question About Collis 1959 George Washington Steel Restrike Impression
Rcoins55
Posts: 18 ✭
Hi Everyone,
Has anyone seen anything like this before or know anything about this piece? This appears to possibly be related to the 1959 Colis restrikes of the Washington Born Virginia medal. It is a negative impression in a steel bar, and the image of Washington has a different texture and appears granular. The opposite side is blank. On the side of the steel bar there is an interesting mark which looks like a small bar code. Could this be a part of its production? Or could it be a later piece but is somehow connected to the 1959 restrike?
Let me know your thoughts.
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Comments
Interesting.
Are you sure it is steel? Is it magnetic?
Let me do a little research on the restrikes.
It is magnetic. My magnet stuck to the bar. Thank you!
This thread says that copy dies were made and used for the restrikings.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/972440/collis-restrike-whereabouts
"Copy dies" implies that some sort of a hub was created for the transfer process.
Your piece might be a test impression from such a hub, before it was impressed into the copy die. Or, it might have been made later from said hypothetical hub.
More research is required.
Here is another old thread.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1066542/collis-restrikes
This article by Collis in the August , 1959 The Numismatist describes how the original die was copied in a steel-to-steel transfer process:
Thanks for your help! What do you think about the bar code on the side? Do you think it was a part of the process? It is possible this could be related to the original 1959 restrike but it could also be a later piece because of the texture on Washington's bust does not match the Colis piece.
I thought that this could be a die break, but it could also be related to an original hub breaking. I noticed a crack that starts between “O” and “R” of the word “Born” through the hairline of Washington’s bust and through his shoulder and through the “B” in “Feb”. It is interesting.
A letter to the editor from Collin in the November, 1959 Numismatist. Note that it gives the silver mintage as 27, not 22.
An ad from Collis in the December, 1961 Numismatist. Again it gives the silver mintage as 27.
This is interesting! Thank you!
All of that said, the graininess of your piece puzzles me. It has been I while since I have handled the original die, but I do not recall it being grainy like this. Nor do any of the copper pieces I have owned or handled look grainy. Of course, it is quite possible that the field of the copy die was polished, removing any graininess there. I will have to look at one of the copper strikes to see if the lettering is grainy.
I think we need to call John Kraljevich in on this.
HEY @JohnKraljevich
@Pistareen
Currently on eBay. May be related.
LINK
If you go back to the first post in this thread, hit the gear symbol, then edit, and change Colis to Collis to help people find the thread.
Thanks! I just made the edit.
Yeah. Grainy and weak.
Looking at the marks in the end of the bar, I wonder if that might simply be a mark from a set screw or some other vise-like mechanism used to hold the bar steady during the die or hub transfer process.
Nothing on the other end?
TD
There is nothing that I can see on the other end. Here is a picture of the back of the piece.
Here is a picture of the other end of the bar. There is nothing there.