(Ca. 1860?) Edwards Counterfeit of the 1826 Charles Carroll of Carrollton Medal. As Julian PE-6. Silver, 51.1 mm. AU Details--Damage (PCGS).813.4 grains. A fascinating medal, reviled as counterfeit in its first auction appearance, "vandalized" after it, and today a unique relic of the Wild West era of the birth of American numismatics. Light silver gray with a faint gold overtone and darker toning around the obverse periphery. Light hairlines are seen on both sides, but no other significant defects. In the left obverse field, the words "COUNTERFEIT" and "by Edwards" have been careful scratched or engraved in two lines. John Ford believed what Tom Elder called vandalism was executed by S.H. Chapman. For comparison of what it looked like when Samuel Hudson Chapman wrote in all capital letters, see another item that sold in the Ford V sale: the Diplomatic Medal cliche in lot 200. The hands seem similar and support Fords contention. <p><p>Dr. Frank Edwards died in New York in June 1865, one day shy of his 39th birthday. In his short life, he had restruck many classic types by John Adams Bolen and made at least two counterfeits on his own accord: a 1796 half cent copy that has become a very desirable item, and this little known medal. It appears just two are known, both pedigreed to Bushnell: this example and a copper one. A second copper specimen may exist as well. You can practically hear the young Chapman brothers spitting on the ground when they described this in 1882: "Similar [to the genuine], and so close an imitation that it is with difficulty distinguished from the original. This scandalous piece of work by the late Dr. Edwards has deceived many persons. Silver. Proof. Extremely rare. For reference we have placed it on the plate."<p><p>While this medal looks pretty similar to the original at arms length, it falls apart under magnification. The signature of GOBRECHT F. under the bust truncation is very crude here, and the diagonal crossbar on the B stands out in addition to the general texture of the letterforms. The reverse is similar, with particular crudity in the legend inside the wreath. The entire right side of the line AFTER THE 50TH is recut, and the leaves in the upper half of the wreath all have tiny circles (berries?) in them that are not present on the original.<p><p>Why would Edwards make a counterfeit of this medal? Was he angry that most of these were still owned by the family and the U.S. Mint didnt possess the dies that might enable them to make restrikes? We may never know. Edwards must have been an oddball. This rare medal is too.PCGS# 926012.<strong>To view supplemental information and all items from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, click<a href="https://stacksbowers.com/sydney-f-martin-collection/"target=’_blank’> here.</a></strong>.From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from Henry and S. Hudson Chapmans sale of the Charles I. Bushnell Collection, June 1882, lot 358; Harlan Page Smith; Thomas Elders sale of the S.H. Chapman Collection, February 1932, lot 521, apparently unsold; S.H. Chapman Estate; John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, via David Bullowa, ca. 1953; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part V, October 2004, lot 228; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006.
