Ever seen this 1976 Denver mint medal before?
gummibear
Posts: 786 ✭✭✭
I just got this in a lot and hadn't seen one before. Do you know if is on the rarer side? Thought it was kind of neat.
Thanks,
Richard
Thanks,
Richard
1
Comments
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I believe it's relatively scarce and only appears in the 1976 Denver souvenir
set but haven't been able to confirm this. Mintage of the set is likely in the
4,000 vicinity and attrition should be very high. Dealers cut these sets up
and sell this medal for a dollar or two so they don't get good protection in
all cases.
I'd guess a few more than 2,000 survive and specimens would be difficult to
scare up. It fits several different collections as well as "bicentennial items" so
demand should be fairly good some day.
<< <i>I'm guessing the other side has a bicentennial design.
I believe it's relatively scarce and only appears in the 1976 Denver souvenir
set but haven't been able to confirm this. Mintage of the set is likely in the
4,000 vicinity and attrition should be very high. Dealers cut these sets up
and sell this medal for a dollar or two so they don't get good protection in
all cases.
I'd guess a few more than 2,000 survive and specimens would be difficult to
scare up. It fits several different collections as well as "bicentennial items" so
demand should be fairly good some day. >>
Thanks for the replies.
The Bicentennial was my first thought too when I saw 76. But it is actually also the centennial of Colorado. So, I don't know if this is the medal you are thinking of.
Richard
my car art & My Ebay stuff
<< <i>
Thanks for the replies.
The Bicentennial was my first thought too when I saw 76. But it is actually also the centennial of Colorado. So, I don't know if this is the medal you are thinking of.
>>
No. I bollicked this up pretty good and will attempt to fix it.
The tokens in the '75 souvenir sets are standard.
The ones in the '76 sets are changed apparently for the bicentennial and
are pretty interesting. The Philly token was completely recut for this year.
it features the US mint in Philly with "United Statesa Mint", "Philadelphia" and
scroll and pen below with stars around the border. Above around the bor-
der is "Bicentennial of Independence" with liberty bell dividing "1776 1976".
and "proclaim/ Liberty/ Throughout the land below. ...plus nine stars among
the top!
Reverse has "200th Anniversary of the United States" at top with large scene
of "first coining meeting" central and these words below. At the bottom is
*1776*1976*.
The Denver token for the '76 souvenir set has the normal obverse with 1876*
1976 above and "Centennial" below. In the center is a stylized "76" superim-
posed on a Rockies scene with "Colorado USA" in the numbers.
I consider them both bicentennial issues though the Denver token does not
specifically refer to the national bicentenial. Keep in mind that this is a token
of the mint which produced the bicentennial US mint set. It's also improbable
they'd have marked the occassion of Colorado's 100th anniversary if it did not
coincide with the 200th of the US.
Mintage figures are very difficult to come by for the souvenir sets but based
on the frequency of their appearance I'd estimate a 4,000 mintage for the Den-
ver and 3,000 for the Philly.
I don't know if either of these were available by any other means but I suspect
not.
<< <i>It looks like it should be common, but I've never seen one. I think some of this bicentennial stuff may become quite valuable - but only if you can wait until 2076! >>
It could take a very very long time. There will probably be a little interest in
fifteen years for the 250th anniversary but I wouldn't hold my breath. What's
really remarkable today compared to the past is the very high attrition on
this sort of thing. Mintages aren't even necessarily higher, yet now days items
such as these actually get discarded commonly since everyone is so wealthy.
People didn't spend 75c or $1 a hundred years ago for a bronze medal and then
just pitch it in the garbage but people now don't think twice about such things.
If you keep your eyes peeled for these they'll probably only cost a dollar or two
when you find them. This near total lack of interest and resulting low price for
almost everything modern assures a very high attrition which will cause many
of them to be rare or even nonexistent.
If anyone is interested there are literally thousands of bicentennial tokens and
medals. Only about a hundred of them are extremely common. But even some
of the extremely common ones have a very remarkable attrition since they were
often made in very "consumable" materials.
Thanks for the information. I found the backround very interesting and helpful. Hopefully one day it will have a bit of value, it is a pretty nice looking medal even if it is almost worthless.
<< <i>
<< <i>It looks like it should be common, but I've never seen one. I think some of this bicentennial stuff may become quite valuable - but only if you can wait until 2076! >>
It could take a very very long time. There will probably be a little interest in
fifteen years for the 250th anniversary but I wouldn't hold my breath. What's
really remarkable today compared to the past is the very high attrition on
this sort of thing. Mintages aren't even necessarily higher, yet now days items
such as these actually get discarded commonly since everyone is so wealthy.
People didn't spend 75c or $1 a hundred years ago for a bronze medal and then
just pitch it in the garbage but people now don't think twice about such things.
If you keep your eyes peeled for these they'll probably only cost a dollar or two
when you find them. This near total lack of interest and resulting low price for
almost everything modern assures a very high attrition which will cause many
of them to be rare or even nonexistent.
If anyone is interested there are literally thousands of bicentennial tokens and
medals. Only about a hundred of them are extremely common. But even some
of the extremely common ones have a very remarkable attrition since they were
often made in very "consumable" materials. >>
my car art & My Ebay stuff
<< <i>The "76" side of this medal is the same as the reverse of the Colorado Centennial National Commemorative Medal (see below) struck at the Denver Mint in 1976. The other side is the standard Denver Mint medal design showing the Denver Mint building.
Thank you.
Yes. That is the design.
The set is copper, bronze, and silver if I remember correctly. I've never seen the holder before.
<< <i>
<< <i>The "76" side of this medal is the same as the reverse of the Colorado Centennial National Commemorative Medal (see below) struck at the Denver Mint in 1976. The other side is the standard Denver Mint medal design showing the Denver Mint building.
Thank you.
Yes. That is the design.
The set is copper, bronze, and silver if I remember correctly. I've never seen the holder before. >>
The "76" design is quite "groovy"!
TD
Edited to add: oops, missed the reverse image as it went off my screen. The standad reverse was a treasury shield, I believe. Never saw this reverse.
I've sold a couple off center and double struck examples of both reverse dies on copper planchets over the last 15 years.
Bill Swoger did a book on modern Mint medals. Anybody have a copy?
Yes, common for sure. Part of the centennial celebration (bicentennial for the US).
bob
Common? I'd be happy to get one of these for a modest price. The pairing of that common obverse is probably tough with that reverse.
P.S. Got a set on eBay!
The book "National Commemorative Medals of the United States" by John Dean includes listings for all of the 1976 Colorado medals pictured previously in this thread.
The "mule" bronze medal (with Denver Mint building on one side and the "76" on the other) is scarcer than the normal bronze, silver, or gold-plated bronze medals. But they can be found with a little searching. One interesting thing about this medal is that it has a "D" mint mark on both sides.
The rare one is the solid gold version. Only 100 were minted and to get one it reportedly required a $500 donation to the Colorado Bicentennial Commission in 1976. Here is one with all the original packaging:
A related medal, which seems harder to find than even the gold one pictured above, is this Denver Mint 1980 "Production Achievement Award":
.
@dcarr... Thanks for the further information.... and the picture of the production award. The mule bronze medal with a mint mark on each side would be an interesting item to acquire. Cheers, RickO
Great info everyone. The gold is a treat and I'd love to see the pics of the off center and double struck examples. This is part of what makes these forums so great!