1812 Captain Isaac Hull / USS Constitution vs. HMS Guerriere. Bronze. 65 mm. Julian NA-12. MS-65 BN (NGC).Rich copper-brown surfaces display strong reflectivity and soft rose, blue-green and gold iridescence in the fields. There are a few tiny nicks, but the eye appeal is quite excellent; the medal appears pristine without magnification. A large rim cud on the reverse extends from the lower left point of the leftmost cloud upward to over the R in HORAE. Julian notes that a medal in the collection at West Point, believed to be from about 1885, also exhibits this break. This piece is probably from the same time period. The dies were finished in 1815, and it is thought that production of the medals commenced sometime after the Mint fire in January 1816.From our Baltimore Auction of November 2017, lot 45. The medal was donated by Stanley DeForest Scott to benefit the endowment campaign for the executive director position at the American Numismatic Society.
