Bronze medals ~ Peace, Inaugural, Military, etc. (adding pics)

VirginiaCollector

I have a small collection of bronze medals, mostly US that I need to evaluate. Any recommendations
for reference/research material? Using HA's archives, I think that I have identified most of them but
as most sales occurred 2008 and prior, is there a more definitive price guide? Can I assume that as
with coins and currency, condition is still everything when it comes to bronze medals? Any medal
collectors here?

Thanks for any assistance!

AnkurJ

Contact Joe Levine:

Presidential Auctions

Ankur

jonathanb

There are several medal collectors on the board. Post pictures.

One of the real issues with US =medals is that many of them were restruck over long periods of time. The recent restrikes are worth a small fraction of the ones from the 1800s. They can usually be told apart from pictures. They can rarely be told apart from text descriptions without pictures.

VirginiaCollector

Thank you! I have emailed Mr. Levine and will post a few pics shortly. There are over 40 medals
in the collection and while I am still working on identification, here is a list of what I THINK they are....

The last 8 on the list are still a mystery to me.....

Please let me know of any specific scans that anyone might want to see! Thanks AGAIN!!

1848 Major General Winfield Scott bronze medal. Julian MI-27

1854 Commander Duncan Ingraham copper/bronze medal. Julian NA-26

Major General Zachary Taylor bronzed/copper medal. Julian MI-22

Major General Zachary Taylor Mint medal. Bronzed copper. Julian MI-23

Captain Lewis Warrington Naval Medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-23

Lieutenant Robert Henley medal. With CB on reverse. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-11

John Paul Jones Mint medal. Comitia Americana under bust. Bronzed copper.
Julian NA-1

John Paul Jones medal. Same as above but MUCH heavier!

Master Commander Jesse D. Elliott naval medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-10

Master Commander Oliver Hazard Perry naval medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-19

Major General Peter Porter medal. Bronzed copper. Juian MI-18

Brigadier General Daniel Morgan 1781 Victory at Cowpens medal. Betts 593 (restrike?)

1850 Millard Fillmore Indian Peace medal. Bronzed copper. Julian IP-30

1853 Large Date Franklin Pierce Indian Peace medal. Bronzed copper. Julian IP-32

1857 James Buchanan Indian Peace medal. Bronzed copper. Julian IP-36

1845 James K. Polk Indian Peace medal. Bronzed copper. Julian IP-24

1801 Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace medal. Bronzed copper. Julian IP-3

1881 Chester A Arthur Presidential Inaugural medal. Bronzed copper. Julian PR-22

1885 Grover Cleveland Inaugural medal. Bronzed copper. Julian PR-23

1901 William McKinley 2nd Inaugural medal. Bronzed copper. Julian PR-

1909 William H. Taft Inaugural medal. Bronzed copper. Julian PR-

Captain William Bainbridge War of 1812 medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-4

Colonel George Croghan medal. Bronzed copper. Julian MI-12

1923 Calvin Coolidge Inaugural medal. Bronzed copper. Julian PR-
Warren G. Harding medal. Bronzed copper. Julian –

Woodrow Wilson 2nd Inaugural medal. Bronzed copper. Julian PR-

1837 Martin Van Buren Inian Peace medal. 2nd reverse Bronzed copper. Julian IP-17

Major General Jacob Brown Mint medal. Bronzed copper. Julian MI-11

Commodore Edward Preble War with Tripoli medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-3

Lieutenant Edward R. McCall Naval medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-16

Major General Zachary Taylor Congessional medal. Bronzed copper. Julian MI-24

Lieutenant Stephan Cassin Mint medal. With CB on reverse. Julian NA-8

Master Commandant Oliver H. Perry Mint medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-17

Master Commandant Thoma MacDonough Medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-15

Captain Charles Stewart Mint medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-22

Major General Alexander Macomb Mint medal. Bronzed copper. Julian MI-18

Captain Johnston Blakely Mint medal. Bronzed copper. Julian NA-6


Lindbergh Medal of Congress

George Washington ~ bust on obv, on horseback on reverse

Georges Clemenceau 1918

Napoleon

Battle of Stony Point reproduction 1880

Henrico Lee Aug 1779

John Horn Jr hero medal Detroit River

Thomas Truxton March 24, 1800

Barndog

photos of all would be great...in the meantime, check out the "Stack's Americana Auction" that is on the internet now. Many examples of medals available against which you could compare yours.

You might also consider contacting an expert like JOHN KRALJEVICH: jk@jkamericana.com

VirginiaCollector

Julian NA-26





Betts 593 (restrike?)





Julian MI-27

VirginiaCollector

These are the last 8 on the list....not sure what they are....

AnkurJ

The Washington medal with him on horseback on the reverse is a restrike of the Washington Before Boston Medal. An expert will be able to tell you the exact age, but its probably a late 19th century or early 20th century restrike. Nice medals! Joe Levine should definetely be able to help you.

Ankur

Barndog

I'm no expert and can only compare to what I have in my collection, but the color tells me you have a bunch of modern reproductions and restrikes.

keets

as Barndog mentioned, color is often the first and easiest diagnostic for seperating the original issues from their contemporary re-issues. older medals tended to be copper planchets which were "bronzed" and appearing dark in color while the more recent examples tend to be struck on yellow bronze planchets, appearing lighter in color. i'm no expert to be sure, but the J-26 is perhaps an original, but even that one doesn't quite look correct. many of these were still available as recently as the 1970's and 1980's and some can still be ordered from the Mint today such as the Peace Medals.

VirginiaCollector

<< <i>as Barndog mentioned, color is often the first and easiest diagnostic for seperating the original issues from their contemporary re-issues. older medals tended to be copper planchets which were "bronzed" and appearing dark in color while the more recent examples tend to be struck on yellow bronze planchets, appearing lighter in color. i'm no expert to be sure, but the J-26 is perhaps an original, but even that one doesn't quite look correct. many of these were still available as recently as the 1970's and 1980's and some can still be ordered from the Mint today such as the Peace Medals. >>



Thanks....I was given the collection 35+ years ago and after a short lived fascination, they have actually been languishing in a closet
since then. Considering that my only expectations were melt value, it should be exciting as I discover just what I might have!

Barndog

haul them to the next Baltimore show and you should be able to get some definitive answers

jonathanb

Most of those have definitive answers without taking them anywhere. Look at the very light color of the Washington Before Boston medal (Washington on horseback, top right of the picture with a lot of medals). That is a restrike. Absolutely no question whatsoever. The large Winfield Scott medal is also clearly a restrike, for the same reasons. Line up the medals by color, and anything that has a color that matches those is a restrike also. Mint medals do have some value as restrikes, maybe $10-$40 each.

As a secondary characteristic, modern restrikes are also produced with a matte finish. If you take a magnifying glass and look at any flat area of that Washington medal, you will see that it isn't smooth, but rather has lots of microscopic pits. Originals from the 19th century have perfectly smooth reflective surfaces, give or take a few nicks that might have happened since then.

A third thing to look for is one that I rarely hear mentioned. The modern strikes that I see have parallel microscopic grooves running the circumference of the edge (perpendicular to the reeding that would be found on a quarter or dime. If you run your fingernail up and down the side of the Washington medal, you should be able to feel the ridges even if you can't see them. In contrast, a nickel would feel perfectly smooth if you did that, and so would a 19th century version of this medal.

Given that you have so many medals that are unquestionably restrikes -- and given that these medals were sold in large sets in the 1960s and 1970s -- odds are good that all of yours are restrikes. That said, some of yours are clearly darker than others. Look how much darker the De Fleury medal is than the Washington medal right above it. The John Horn medal also looks dark. Being dark BY ITSELF doesn't mean that one of these medals is a 19th century striking. Some medals simply turn dark with age. If you're going to look more closely at anything, though, look at the dark ones.

jonathan