1785 (ca. 1863) Inimica Tyrannis Americana / Confederatio Copper Muling. Small Circle. Copy by John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-8, Kenney-3, W-14250. Copper. MS-63 BN (NGC).26.8 mm. Medium chocolate brown with nuances of rose and steel, and a few flecks of faded orange nestled into some of the recesses. Minor surface debris clings near the rightmost obverse rim. Lustrous and sharp with a pleasantly fresh and original appearance, and nicely struck from the dies in their early states, prior to any effort to deface them by Bolen before selling them to Dr. Edwards. Certainly one of Bolens originals, one of 40 believed to have been struck. Bolens own annotated notebook included the mintage as 30 in this metal, but the number was upped to 40 in Johnsons 1882 list, which we suspect is more accurate. Johnson is said to have worked from Bolens own set of medals, and a copper one in the ANS, purchased from Bolens granddaughter in 1948, bears the edge marking, B. 40 STRUCK. This piece was clearly the source for Johnsons report, so 40 seems a fairly reliable number. This said, some of these were artificially worn to pass as the genuine patterns and it is difficult to believe that some werent destroyed or lost, so the number extant is probably smaller. A popular and beautifully accomplished struck colonial copy.From the Claremont Collection. Earlier ex Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society; Heritages sale of the Eric P. Newman Collection, Part XI, November 2018, lot 15019.
