1776 (ca. 1851) Declaration of Independence Signing Ceremony Medal. Struck Bronze. 91 mm. 379.9 grams. By Charles Cushing Wright. Musante GW-181, Baker-53. MS-65 BN (PCGS).This is a masterwork by esteemed engraver Charles Cushing Wright, whose mark appears on both dies, at Washingtons truncation on the obverse and at the lower center of the reverse. His representation of Washington, after the famous Houdon bust, is thoughtful and striking, and is executed in exceptional relief against a broad and largely plain field. This is an exquisite example of an enormous and very rare medal. The bronze is rich mahogany in tone, flecked with tan throughout the fields. The surfaces are glossy with virtually no handling marks save for a tiny break in the patina at the highest curls of Washingtons hair. The soft luster is immaculate, with nuances of prooflike character in the fields and light satin finish on the sharp devices. Four or so tiny carbon flecks are noted on the reverse, which would serve to identify this specimen in the future, though these medals are rare enough that one might identify it by its quality alone. We imagine this must be among the finest of the few survivors, as we do not recall handling another so choice. The last we handled (apart from an earlier offering of this piece) was in our (Stacks) Norweb Collection sale, November 2006, lot 2046, graded Choice Mint State and clearly inferior to this one. The same could be said of Lucien LaRivieres example, sold by us (Bowers and Merena) in November 1999, as it was fairly spotted. John J. Fords was beautiful, probably comparable to this one, but had a small rim bump. Gilbert Steinbergs was quite photogenic, but was cataloged with "very minor, small edge nicks and dents," while no such impairments are seen here. Considering the size and heft of the medal, it is remarkable that any survived with so little handling, particularly since the broad open fields are quite easily marred.<p>Baker cataloged this medal as "very rare" in 1885. This was shortly after the electrotype copies were put into circulation among collectors, so the medal in all its forms would have been fresh in the minds of interested contemporaries. In 1965, in his annotated version of Baker, George Fuld stated that just three had been seen by him. Years later in their 1985 revision of Baker, Rulau and Fuld missed this note and published the Gilbert Steinberg specimen as unique. The most recent edition of <em>Medallic Portraits of Washington</em> (1999) suggests perhaps five or six known. This seems reasonable, though it is likely that some additional specimens are hidden in institutional collections, which would have no bearing on availability. In struck format, these medals typically only appear when great collections are sold, as in the short list referenced above. However, even some of the great collections of this specialty lacked an example, including Garrett, Brand, Dreyfuss and Collins. Steinbergs hammered for $4,000 in 1992; a dozen years later, Fords hammered for $7,000. In 2006, just two years later, the Norweb specimen realized what was then a landmark $19,550. Our 2014 sale of the present example for $44,063 is the current record price and confirms that this medal now attracts the appreciation it deserves.From the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation. Earlier ex Anthony Terranova; our sale of the Charles A. Wharton Collection, March 2014, lot 2074. The plate piece for the type on page 250 of the 2016 reference <em>Medallic Washington, Volume 1: 1777 to 1860</em> by Neil Musante.
