Undated (ca. 1861) Pioneer Baseball Club Medal. By John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-1. Copper. MS-64 RB (PCGS).31.5 mm. Handsome red and brown surfaces with intense orange red around the letters of the obverse legend. Gentle blue and green iridescence accents the centers, the reverse being a bit more mellow brown overall but still featuring the same pleasing accent colors. Traces of reflective character remain in the fields. A few trivial patina spots are noted for accuracy, but the eye appeal and overall quality are excellent. All details are boldly struck up with evidence of double striking on the reverse. A prized medal in the Bolen series, indeed, one of the most beloved, and the medal that initiated Bolens career as a medalist.<p>The dies for this issue were cut in 1861, commissioned of Bolen by Charles E. Vinton, a hotel clerk at Massasoit House in Springfield, and an associate with the Pioneer Baseball Club in that city. The dies themselves were sold to Vinton, as clearly indicated in Bolens own manuscript notebook, now in the care of the ANS. The entry pertaining to the dies, however, is in the hand of Major Charles P. Nichols, a prominent Springfield collector. The annotations, as discussed in the introduction to this offering, include various entries as to numbers struck, etc., and were the basis for the listing of Bolens works in the June 1868 issue of the <em>American Journal of Numismatics</em>. As of 1882, when Edwin Johnson published his listing of Bolens works, he reported that the dies were still in Vintons care, but that would not last long, as Vinton is reported to have died by his own hand in January 1883. In Bolens own 1905 listing of his works, he entered the Pioneer Baseball Club medals as entry number one, clarifying that this was his first medallic commission as a die-sinker.<p>The Pioneer Baseball Club medals are among the most prized of Bolens works, and have been since the time of their production. Not only are they his first commission, but they are among the few issues that combine two of Americas favorite pastimes, baseball and numismatics. It was reported that club member, Ham Downing "carried his medal with him at all times" and was supposedly buried with it!<p>Just 75 were reported to have been struck in copper, all of which would have been by Bolen, as these dies are not known to have been sold into the numismatic trade. This is the most desired composition and seems quite a bit rarer than the suggested mintage might indicate. We have just seven appearances in copper in our online archives going back two decades (including this example in 2017).From the Claremont Collection. Earlier ex Henry South; our sale of the Tim Gabriele Collection, November 2017 Baltimore Auction, lot 217.
