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The Washington Funeral Medals (For Sale!..... in 1800)

Washington Funeral Medals have always been one of my personal favorites every since I started studying early American coinage. These pieces made by Jacob Perkins in Newburyport, MA in late 1799/early 1800 are a true view into the past. Almost all are holed to be worn around the neck, and are found in gold, silver, copper and white metal. There are two major types (and some other sub-types such as the oval shells in gold) which are the URN reverse and the Skull and Crossbones reverse. All are very scarce, and since they were meant to be used, are often found in lower grade with typical surface problems.

There is a nice, short writeup on the history of these medals on the Notre Dame website. Here is the text that was found there.

Comments: Washington died on December 14, 1799. Two funeral processions were held in Boston, the first was sponsored by the Masonic Lodge on Feb. 11, 1800 while the second was a general procession on February 22, 1800. According to Baker the Newburyport diemaker Jacob Perkins produced medals for each event. The two medals have similar obverses. The reverse of the medal for the Masonic procession, Baker 165, contains a legend in four lines with a small skull and crossbones at the bottom. The reverse of the medal shown above, though to be for the general procession, displays a legend in two lines with an urn in the center. Angel Pietri has discovered the Boston Masonic Lodge still owns an urn made by Paul Revere that contains a lock of Washington's hair. Pietri examined the procession in detail, using contemporary accounts. In the diary of the Reverend William Bently, who gave the funeral sermon for the Mason's event there is a mention of Perkins, "on this occasion so well known for his excellent medals ... of our General Washington." (Pietri, pp. 15 and 17). From this and the prominence of the urn in the procession Pietri suggests both Washington medals were produced and sold at the Masonic procession.

WA Funeral Medal Urn Reverse in Silver. Ex. LaRiviere Collection


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WA Funeral Medal Urn Reverse in White Metal

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About six months ago, I stumbled across this very interesting newspaper (February 1800 Providence Journal) that includied a fantastic advertisement by David Vinton, offering Washington Funeral Medals for sale right before the two funeral processions in Boston. What struck me as very interesting when reading the ad, was the fact David Vinton was suggesting these medals were being worn in Boston, and should be purchased especially for children, so they would always remember what George Washington had done for them when they were older. I had never seen this advertisement before, and as far as I am aware, there is only one other ad known for these medals, which was done by Perkins himself to judge interest in the pieces before he even produced them.

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Its always fun to share information like this. Very few times do we find true windows to our past, and I figured everyone would find this pretty cool!
New England Rarities...Dealer In Colonial Coinage and Americana

Comments

  • MidLifeCrisisMidLifeCrisis Posts: 10,504 ✭✭✭✭✭
    image

    Very cool! I'll add one to my collection one day.
  • SonorandesertratSonorandesertrat Posts: 5,695 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Very interesting, and the funeral medals are definitely cool, whether holed or not.
    We're off to the races, MLC.image
    Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA

    RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'

    CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
  • curlycurly Posts: 2,880
    Very interesting, thanks for posting.
    Every man is a self made man.
  • fastfreddiefastfreddie Posts: 2,721 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Very nice. Thanks.

    Very cool that the 's' got substituted for 'f' on some of the words in the paper.

    Imagine if Outlook spell check had a bug like that today!
    It is not that life is short, but that you are dead for so very long.
  • MsMorrisineMsMorrisine Posts: 32,123 ✭✭✭✭✭
    fuper!

    Current maintainer of Stone's Master List of Favorite Websites // My BST transactions
  • NewEnglandRaritiesNewEnglandRarities Posts: 1,020 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>fuper! >>



    Lol
    New England Rarities...Dealer In Colonial Coinage and Americana
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Way kewleth!
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cool history! image

    Wondering if on THURSDAY, February 6 1800 a typesetter received the first ever pink flip imageimage
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • shorecollshorecoll Posts: 5,445 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Mine is only VG, seems it was worn long after the funeral.
    ANA-LM, NBS, EAC
  • ajmanajman Posts: 1,359 ✭✭✭
    I have also had an interest in these medals ever since I saw a show purport to have a genuine one for sale. (It was called Big Brian's Estate Sales, or something like that, I think it was on TruTV @ the time) Anyway great info and thanks for posting it Mike.
    Beer is Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy -Benjamin Franklin-
  • SonorandesertratSonorandesertrat Posts: 5,695 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Very nice. Thanks.

    Very cool that the 's' got substituted for 'f' on some of the words in the paper.

    Imagine if Outlook spell check had a bug like that today! >>



    Look more carefully---the letters aren't the same.
    Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA

    RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'

    CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
  • Coin FinderCoin Finder Posts: 6,944 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cool stuff thanks!
  • MidLifeCrisisMidLifeCrisis Posts: 10,504 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm wondering if Sonorandesertrat ever added one to his collection... image
  • keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great Post!
    "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
    Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:
  • I note that the medal shows Washington's birthdate as Feb 11, 1732 rather than Feb 22. Feb 11 was correct in the calendar of the time of his birth.
    The calendar was reformed in England and its possessions in 1752.
  • Thefse medals from Bofston, are worn by children particularly of all claffes... particularly of all classes..... HUH? image
    A thing of beauty is a joy for ever
  • SonorandesertratSonorandesertrat Posts: 5,695 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I'm wondering if Sonorandesertrat ever added one to his collection... image >>



    Still looking, and I have managed to repeatedly get sidetracked with other flirtations (numismatic literature, fossils, large cents).
    Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA

    RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'

    CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
  • coindeucecoindeuce Posts: 13,471 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Cool history! image

    Wondering if on THURSDAY, February 6 1800 a typefetter* received the first ever pink flip imageimage >>



    *Fixed.

    "Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
    http://www.americanlegacycoins.com

  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think that newspaper clipping is almost as cool as the medal itself. Neat!



    << <i>Very cool that the 's' got substituted for 'f' on some of the words in the paper.

    Imagine if Outlook spell check had a bug like that today! >>



    That's not an error, of course. It's the archaic "Long s".

    So the typefetter didn't get a pink flip, but the long "s" itself did, not long into the new century.

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • RegulatedRegulated Posts: 2,983 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Some of my very favorite things!
    David McCarthy - Kagin's - IG: X_COINNERD_X

    What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
  • f has a crossbar on both sides of the vertical member.
    The old fashioned s has that line on the left only.
    With a little practice, you can easily read the old printing.


  • << <i>Very nice. Thanks.

    Very cool that the 's' got substituted for 'f' on some of the words in the paper.

    Imagine if Outlook spell check had a bug like that today! >>



    That's a "long" s, which was in common use in printed text before 1800.
    Let's try not to get upset.
  • You can notice that in the newspaper the "s" ending a word is a modern "s" and not a long one. That was a pretty standard technique.
    Now an interesting feature in the modern Greek language is that a final sigma in a word can look just like our modern "s".

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