Can anyone help ID this Centennial medal??
keets
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The medal below doesn't seem to be ID'd in any reference I have unless I overlooked it, so I was wondering if anyone could help me put a number or name to it. It's pretty self-explanatory from the Legends, the 1876 Centennial of American Independence held in Philadelphia. Though I have been able to find a few other examples through searches they have all been listed as "White Metal" in composition, this one is Aluminum. The diameter is approx. 51mm and the medal itself is in extraordinary condition, both sides are fully reflective with no major marks and only faint oxidation to the highest points. What appear as hairlines and scratches are greatly exaggerated by the picture, they are only faintly perceptible with the naked eye in strong light.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Al H.
Comments
Not sure if this is applicable ?
Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1872, the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) was founded by a group of concerned citizens in the late nineteenth century who wanted to beautify Philadelphia's urban landscape with public art to counter the city's encroaching industrialism. The Association initially focused on enhancing Fairmount Park with outdoor sculpture, but the organization's mission expanded in 1906 to include the rest of the city as a whole: to "promote and foster the beautiful in Philadelphia, in its architecture,
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I don't know that aluminum is that unusual for these pieces. I have a centennial piece on the same subject, that is a different variety, that is made out of aluminum. I didn't know that there was book on the centennial medals other than the U.S. Mint made pieces that are in Julian's 19th century U.S. Mint medals.
That is a very nice looking peice.
The fair was held in Philadelphia from May 10 to November 10, 1876. There were five buildings built in Fairmount Park: a Main Exhibition building, Memorial Hall (an art gallery), Horticultural Hall, Agricultural Hall and Machinery Hall. The fairground covered about seventy-five acres. The Main Exhibition Building covered 21 acres. Around 10 million visitors attended. There are enough different Washington medals from this fair to start a challenging collection. The Centennial Memorial Building medal was struck in gilt, copper and white metal.
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From fleabay:
1876 Fairmont Park Philadelphia Exhibition Medal with description of
This is a very large decorative souvenir medal from the Centennial Exposition held in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia in 1876. On the one side, the Art Gallery is shown, on the other is the Main Building, with details of the square footage. This great piece is 2” across and weighs in at 1.30 OZ. I believe that this is in pewter. Condition is Uncirculated, but dark.
Some additional information from icollector in 2003
Obverse: Main Building façade with heraldic eagle and flags above. MAIN BUILDING / INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION / FAIRMOUNT PARK / PHILADELPHIA / 1876 / GROUND FLOOR 872.320 SQ. FT. 20.02 ACS. LENGTH 1.880 FT. / UPPER FLOORS 63.688 SQ. FT. 1.45 ACRES WIDTH 464 FT. Reverse: Art Gallery, CENTENNIAL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION / ART GALLERY / FAIRMOUNT PARK / PHILADELPHIA / 1876. White Metal, 51mm, Unc, dark oxidation, minor rim nicks. January 1957 Kreisberg and Schulman sales envelope. Pennsylvania 1876 HWAC# 33747
It's one of the more common Centennial Expo medals, and often comes nice as here.
It's white metal, not aluminum.
It's listed at http://www.centennialmedals.com/ I'm not aware of any other listings.
Jonathan, I've owned enough of both planchet types and don't think this is White Metal.
Keets, go to the site Jonathan listed, go to Exibition Buildings,
scroll down to #8. Your coin is there & it comes in 4 types
including silver.
R.I.P. Bear
I checked the site and I'm not saying it isn't White Metal, just that it appears to be aluminum. it really isn't that important, it is a Gem either way.
thanks for the link to the site, BTW, it should be very helpful in the future.
Try a ring test. Aluminum will ring. White metal will thud.
I know white metal does not ring, but I didn't think that aluminum did either. I remember seeing the Alcoa ads in the '50s where they had a bell made of aluminum that went "clunck!" When the clapper hit the sides. The punchline was ringing was one of the few things aluminum couldn't do.
White metal and aluminum feel completely different. Aluminum has no "heft" and seems to float in your hand. Additionally, In my experience, the texture and brightness of the surface "finish" are not the same.
PS I agree with Bill and have never heard a "ring" from aluminum. However, I've never dropped an aluminum piece three feet on to a marble slab either. I'm sure you'll hear something resembling - but not quite "ring-like."
HK 623 so called dollar is aluminium.
perhaps the solution might be for someone who has a known White Metal example to give me a weight, then I can make a comparison.
I happen to have aluminum medal (a different medal, not this design) sitting on my desk right now. It gives a clear ring at a much higher pitch than silver or bronze.
I also have one of the OP's medal in what I'm confident is white metal. Mine weighs 39.4 grams. Production quality for white metal medals varied widely. I'd be shocked if the weight of yours matched.
I'm at work now and will weigh and post when I get home. my assumption is that an aluminum medal would weigh noticeably less.
needless to say, I won't be dropping or tapping to ring.
How dangerous is a ring test for aluminum or white metal?
it took me along time to reply, but the medal I have is indeed White Metal. that's a good link, Jonathan, thanks for the help.
I had a pair of these in thick, round glass display cases. I haven't seen a ton of them.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
the one that I have came to me in glass. it was a blue-ish thick glass that had beveled edges and 45's on the corners. there was something like pressed cardboard between the glass that fit the medal tight and the whole thing was taped together. my pictures aren't representative of its true appearance and I am quite amazed of the condition after 140+ years.
it has been in a flip the past few months as I debated on long term storage. I made arrangements with a friend of mine today and it is headed to NGC for encapsulation, that seems like the best option for protection.
my grade estimate is 65DPL/UCAM depending on if it is considered a Proof striking or not.
I missed this before.
I'm glad you got it figured out. That is a beautiful medal! Congratulations.