1756 (ca. 1860-1874) Colonel John Armstrong / Kittanning Destroyed. Original Dies Restrike. Bronze. 44 mm. Julian MI-33. MS-66 BN (NGC).Gorgeous mahogany-brown surfaces with fully defined design elements and satiny, virtually pristine surfaces. These dies were the first medal dies ever produced in what became the United States, authorized by the city of Philadelphia to decorate veterans of a raid on a Native American village near modern day Pittsburgh. Those veterans received silver medals struck over smoothed Pillar 8 reales. The U.S. Mint produced restrikes from these dies from the earliest days of the 19th century through about 1874. The present example is one of those restrikes, although it is not among the latest since the die cracks are not as advanced as we have seen on some pieces. Even so, we note an obverse crack through the final letter D in DESTROYED. The reverse is bulged with three prominent cracks radiating out from the center.
