Feeling dumb and...

rwyarmch

good at the same time!

Wife-"What's it made of?" Don't know.

Wife-"Who put it under glass like that?" Don't know.

Wife-"Well, it's really nice!" No kidding!

BHM 1775

laurentyvan

are you trying to give heart attacks.!??

farthing

MacCrimmon

Well, boz should have a heart attack.

lordmarcovan

theboz11

That medal is number 4 of the series published by the Corporation of the City of London to Commemorate important events in the life of the city. It was made in Silver which is RARE [120], Guilt silver Exceptionally Rare"RRRR" and bronze which is the Normal medal[350].

One was struck in Gold for presentation to the Queen. The location of that medal was listed as unknown and believe lost.


It has the same Obverse as this one by W. Wyon from my collection.

Carnarvon Prize Medallion

Gold 109.6grms (3.87oz) 55mm

rwyarmch

Thanks! I'd hate to think what this medal would look like if it hadn't been encased. There are lots of tiny digs
and scratches on both of the glass lenses and as many bangs and dings on the outer ring holding them.
(If it were from PCGS, I'd get it reholdered!)

theboz11

Where did you see this medal?

Hussulo

rwyarmch

Boz, the images are mine. The seller could not identify the medal's compositon or whether the "glazing"
was contemporary. The leather case it came in was clearly for a much smaller medal. Besides
the reference to a silver gilt version in Brown, my search had turned up only one recent auction appearance
for any gilt BHM 1775. Seemed to be worth a premium over the typical bronze version for just the
capsule and condition.

Spink 2005

theboz11

It is in incredible shape, but the likelihood that it is the one given to the queen seems remote without providence

1jester

Wow, an old-time AirTite! That is an exquisite medal. Could you weigh it or do a specific gravity test to see if it's the Queen's?!

rwyarmch

At a weight of approximately 92 grams (including the "airtite"), I think gold is ruled out. If I allow 20% of
the weight for the capsule itself, this would leave about 74 grams for the medal (similar to Brown's silver gilt example).
Allowing 30+% for the capsule would produce a weight more consistent with bronze gilt. However, this is
sheer speculation and I'm not inclined to open up the capsule to find out more.

Although Brown had access to a silver gilt example (perhaps the Spinks one) which he referred to as "the silver gilt example",
nothing in the record appears to designate the # of gilt specimens produced. Brown may have known only one but
it's a bit of a leap to declare that one unique. There is reference in Brown to 10 "mounted" examples in one record
and 34 in another. Perhaps some of the mounted medals were gilt.

Having blathered on about this, I guess it's possible some enterprising soul gilded a bronze specimen and encased it
long after the original issue date to simply preserve his prize (or to wrench a few more pounds from an unwary collector
such as myself!!)

DorkGirl

Your wife is right......it is really nice!!