1888 Joseph Francis Life Saving Medal. Bronze. 102.7 mm. By Louis Saint-Gaudens. Julian LS-13. About Uncirculated.Heavily mottled olive, bronze and rust finish on the obverse, with a more uniform olive-brown patina to the reverse. A slight touch of friction to the very high relief portrait. One tiny edge nick at 2 oclock on the obverse, but no other flaws or damage to the planchet, which is remarkable for a medal of this size. These medals were authorized by Congress to honor Joseph Francis, an inventor whose metal lifeboats were lauded as an important innovation of the 19th century. R.W. Julian (1977) recounts that bronze examples of this medal required 50 impressions over a painstaking 25-hour process to bring up full detail. Consequently this largest format of the Francis medal is very rare; after 1945 the Mint productions of this medal were struck from much more manageable 76-mm dies. This example housed in its original leather and velvet presentation case.<p>
