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ANR/Stacks Reports finding unique Zachary Taylor 20 oz. gold medal
stephunter
Posts: 2,324 ✭✭✭
My goodness. How cool is this?
A Magnificent New Discovery
President Zachary Taylor’s Unique Gold Medal Survives
Struck With 20 Ounces of California Gold on July 4, 1849
Perhaps the Most Important American Medal in Private Hands
A dramatic new discovery that could redefine the record books for American medals and numismatic Americana was announced today by Stack’s Rarities of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. While known to historians and numismatists through original documents for decades, the whereabouts of the original 1848 Congressional gold medal awarded to Major General Zachary Taylor, the man elected the 12th President of the United States in 1848, were unknown since his untimely death in 1850. The gold medal, weighing 20 troy ounces or over one pound of gold mined in California in 1848, was long assumed lost or melted in one of the many panics that have gripped the United States since the mid-19th century. Q. David Bowers and Dr. Richard A. “Rick” Bagg have recently located the medal in private hands, long in the care of Zachary Taylor’s descendents and soon to be sold to the highest bidder in an upcoming Stack’s auction.
The Zachary Taylor Medal
Actual Size: 90 mm in Diameter weighing 20 ounces.
The medal is the only specimen known in gold, the actual piece struck on July 4, 1849 in Philadelphia and awarded to then-President Zachary Taylor. Its original presentation box, a finely engraved silver case with the large letters Z.T. on the lid, remains with the medal. At 90 mm in diameter and weighing 20 ounces, it is the largest Congressional Gold Medal in private hands. The 1848 Winfield Scott medal was the same size, and only the 1863 medal U.S. Grant was given by Congress for the victory at Vicksburg is larger. Today, both are in the Smithsonian Institution.
While any large gold medal from the 19th century is impressive and valuable, no American medal of the period in private hands can compare to this Zachary Taylor medal, engraved by America’s foremost medallic artist and struck from the first ever shipment of California Gold Rush gold ever received at the U.S. Mint. Taylor was the victorious general of the Mexican War battle of Buena Vista, fought in Mexico in February 1847. His victory paved the way to the American taking of Mexico City and overall success in the Mexican War, a conflict which resulted in the American annexation of all of California and Arizona, in addition to other areas of the Southwest by the February 1848 Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo. Three months later, the United States Congress voted that two large gold medals be given to the victorious generals, namely Major General Zachary Taylor and Major General Winfield Scott. For Taylor, it would be the third time he would be honored with a Congressional Gold Medal – more than any other American before or since. The Buena Vista Taylor medal was awarded for Taylor’s defeat of “a Mexican army of more than four times their number, consisting of chosen troops, under their favorite commander, General Santa Anna,” according to the original joint resolution. Taylor’s second Congressional Gold Medal also survives, a smaller piece with a simple design given for the victory at Monterey in 1847. Winfield Scott’s 1848 Congressional Gold Medal, authorized the same day as Taylor’s but struck about a month later in August 1849, also survives; today it is a highlight of the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
Between the 1847 victory and the 1848 resolution to recognize that victory with a gold medal, the world was gripped by news from a territory claimed by both warring parties: the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill on the American River in California on January 24, 1848. A gold rush soon followed, and thousands of American settlers poured into the territory. By numismatic tradition, the first gold pieces ever coined from metal discovered in California were the 1848 CAL. $2.50 quarter eagles. Exactly 1,389 pieces were coined from metal transmitted from the military governor of California to the United States Mint as part of a 228 ounce deposit. That deposit, however, arrived at the Mint on December 9, 1848. Only one day earlier, the very first deposit of gold from the California Gold Rush arrived at the mint in Philadelphia, a substantial hoard of gold that one David Carter had personally brought from the American River near Sutter’s Mill. Original documents show that the newly discovered Taylor medal, as well as the Winfield Scott medal now at the Smithsonian, was actually produced from the Carter deposit. Since the products of the Carter deposit were not identified with a mark (like the CAL stamp on the 1848 CAL quarter eagles), this medal is the only product of that first ever deposit of California Gold Rush gold that remains identifiable and in private hands! A single line in a letter from Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson makes this point crystal-clear, as Patterson describes the CAL quarter eagles but notes “the California gold reserved for the medals is from another deposit.”
In March 1849, Major General Zachary Taylor was inaugurated President of the United States. The dies for his Buena Vista medal were completed by Charles Cushing Wright in June 1849 and his unique gold medal was struck in July. In these “Days of ’49,” the California gold strikes dominated the news and inspired the nation. The striking of the gold medal for the President on July 4 of that year was a celebration not only of his military feats, but of the great fortune the nation would derive from one of the captured territories. His medal was larger than any Congressional Gold Medal ever struck, bigger even that the one given to George Washington by Congress; its size was undoubtedly a recognition of the new wealth of gold the nation owned via the annexation of California. The only larger solid gold medal (105 mm) ever struck by the U.S. was given to General Ulysses S. Grant by Congress; today, that medal is in the Smithsonian.
President Zachary Taylor died in July 1850 of gastroenteritis, struck down just days after breaking ground for the Washington Monument on July 4. His medal passed to his heirs and remained there until recent times. In November, this historic artifact of a military hero, an American president, and the greatest gold rush the world has ever known will be sold to the highest bidder. The auction is slated for Baltimore, Maryland on November 7 and 8. For more information about this auction or other upcoming Stack’s Rarities (formerly American Numismatic Rarities) sales, interested parties may contact Rick Bagg at 866-811-1804 or see our website for updated information at www.anrcoins.com.
A Magnificent New Discovery
President Zachary Taylor’s Unique Gold Medal Survives
Struck With 20 Ounces of California Gold on July 4, 1849
Perhaps the Most Important American Medal in Private Hands
A dramatic new discovery that could redefine the record books for American medals and numismatic Americana was announced today by Stack’s Rarities of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. While known to historians and numismatists through original documents for decades, the whereabouts of the original 1848 Congressional gold medal awarded to Major General Zachary Taylor, the man elected the 12th President of the United States in 1848, were unknown since his untimely death in 1850. The gold medal, weighing 20 troy ounces or over one pound of gold mined in California in 1848, was long assumed lost or melted in one of the many panics that have gripped the United States since the mid-19th century. Q. David Bowers and Dr. Richard A. “Rick” Bagg have recently located the medal in private hands, long in the care of Zachary Taylor’s descendents and soon to be sold to the highest bidder in an upcoming Stack’s auction.
The Zachary Taylor Medal
Actual Size: 90 mm in Diameter weighing 20 ounces.
The medal is the only specimen known in gold, the actual piece struck on July 4, 1849 in Philadelphia and awarded to then-President Zachary Taylor. Its original presentation box, a finely engraved silver case with the large letters Z.T. on the lid, remains with the medal. At 90 mm in diameter and weighing 20 ounces, it is the largest Congressional Gold Medal in private hands. The 1848 Winfield Scott medal was the same size, and only the 1863 medal U.S. Grant was given by Congress for the victory at Vicksburg is larger. Today, both are in the Smithsonian Institution.
While any large gold medal from the 19th century is impressive and valuable, no American medal of the period in private hands can compare to this Zachary Taylor medal, engraved by America’s foremost medallic artist and struck from the first ever shipment of California Gold Rush gold ever received at the U.S. Mint. Taylor was the victorious general of the Mexican War battle of Buena Vista, fought in Mexico in February 1847. His victory paved the way to the American taking of Mexico City and overall success in the Mexican War, a conflict which resulted in the American annexation of all of California and Arizona, in addition to other areas of the Southwest by the February 1848 Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo. Three months later, the United States Congress voted that two large gold medals be given to the victorious generals, namely Major General Zachary Taylor and Major General Winfield Scott. For Taylor, it would be the third time he would be honored with a Congressional Gold Medal – more than any other American before or since. The Buena Vista Taylor medal was awarded for Taylor’s defeat of “a Mexican army of more than four times their number, consisting of chosen troops, under their favorite commander, General Santa Anna,” according to the original joint resolution. Taylor’s second Congressional Gold Medal also survives, a smaller piece with a simple design given for the victory at Monterey in 1847. Winfield Scott’s 1848 Congressional Gold Medal, authorized the same day as Taylor’s but struck about a month later in August 1849, also survives; today it is a highlight of the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
Between the 1847 victory and the 1848 resolution to recognize that victory with a gold medal, the world was gripped by news from a territory claimed by both warring parties: the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill on the American River in California on January 24, 1848. A gold rush soon followed, and thousands of American settlers poured into the territory. By numismatic tradition, the first gold pieces ever coined from metal discovered in California were the 1848 CAL. $2.50 quarter eagles. Exactly 1,389 pieces were coined from metal transmitted from the military governor of California to the United States Mint as part of a 228 ounce deposit. That deposit, however, arrived at the Mint on December 9, 1848. Only one day earlier, the very first deposit of gold from the California Gold Rush arrived at the mint in Philadelphia, a substantial hoard of gold that one David Carter had personally brought from the American River near Sutter’s Mill. Original documents show that the newly discovered Taylor medal, as well as the Winfield Scott medal now at the Smithsonian, was actually produced from the Carter deposit. Since the products of the Carter deposit were not identified with a mark (like the CAL stamp on the 1848 CAL quarter eagles), this medal is the only product of that first ever deposit of California Gold Rush gold that remains identifiable and in private hands! A single line in a letter from Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson makes this point crystal-clear, as Patterson describes the CAL quarter eagles but notes “the California gold reserved for the medals is from another deposit.”
In March 1849, Major General Zachary Taylor was inaugurated President of the United States. The dies for his Buena Vista medal were completed by Charles Cushing Wright in June 1849 and his unique gold medal was struck in July. In these “Days of ’49,” the California gold strikes dominated the news and inspired the nation. The striking of the gold medal for the President on July 4 of that year was a celebration not only of his military feats, but of the great fortune the nation would derive from one of the captured territories. His medal was larger than any Congressional Gold Medal ever struck, bigger even that the one given to George Washington by Congress; its size was undoubtedly a recognition of the new wealth of gold the nation owned via the annexation of California. The only larger solid gold medal (105 mm) ever struck by the U.S. was given to General Ulysses S. Grant by Congress; today, that medal is in the Smithsonian.
President Zachary Taylor died in July 1850 of gastroenteritis, struck down just days after breaking ground for the Washington Monument on July 4. His medal passed to his heirs and remained there until recent times. In November, this historic artifact of a military hero, an American president, and the greatest gold rush the world has ever known will be sold to the highest bidder. The auction is slated for Baltimore, Maryland on November 7 and 8. For more information about this auction or other upcoming Stack’s Rarities (formerly American Numismatic Rarities) sales, interested parties may contact Rick Bagg at 866-811-1804 or see our website for updated information at www.anrcoins.com.
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Comments
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
Dayum! That's some heavy metal. <insert headbanger here>
A short-lived (at least in office) and obscure President.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
Edited because Karstedt is difficult to spell.
<< <i>Are you confusing ANR and Stack's?
Takes a while to get used to.
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
<< <i>To paraphrase the young Indiana Jones; " This thing belongs in a Museum". >>
I agree. But I wonder how much it will go for?
I can't even afford its melt value
Hot damn! That's one cool piece of history.
I can't even afford its melt value
Maybe they'll do like they did the gold rush ingots and cut off the faces of the medal and melt the middle.
Obscurum per obscurius
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
It's fun.
I liked having it on my desk.
<< <i>It's hefty.
It's fun.
I liked having it on my desk. >>
You have the best job ever!!!
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
Edit: For more information about this auction or other upcoming Stack’s Rarities (formerly American Numismatic Rarities) sales, interested parties may contact Rick Bagg at 866-811-1804 or see our website for updated information at www.anrcoins.com.
I am having trouble with this company/name change, too.
Check my ebay BIN or Make Offers!!
<< <i>It's hefty.
It's fun.
I liked having it on my desk. >>
--------------
OH so It's real! Congradulations---I thought it was one of the 20 or so "special" new coins
Stacks seems to catelog in every sale!
edited to add: will Rare Coin Wholesalers offer anything for it?
Let's try 160K.