1781 (post 1839) Daniel Morgan at Cowpens Medal. Barre Copy Dies. Bronze. 56.3 mm. 76.4 grams. Betts-593, Julian MI-7, Adams-Bentley 10. MS-67 BN (NGC).The Daniel Morgan at Cowpens is one of the most stunning designs from the American medallic canon. Like all Comitia Americana medals, originals are rare to exceedingly rare. Medals from copy dies became essential as collector demand grew. These Barre dies were stunningly crafted. This superb example was part of the Dorchester Heights Collection sold by us at the 2012 Philadelphia ANA and is nearly perfect. As we cataloged then:Superb reflective character enlivens both sides, with ideal medium brown bronzed patina showing highlights of rose and pastel blue. An exemplary specimen of this medal, about as nice as we have seen. Free of marks, spots, or other distractions. Though Barres transfer dies, using an original medal as a hub, did a remarkably good job transferring Dupres richly detailed design, this piece has enough cameo frost on the obverse designs to truly showcase the differences in detail between the Barre copies and the extremely scarce originals (see Ford Part XIV:210). Considering the rarity of the pieces struck from the original die, the Barre variety makes for a natural and highly attractive stand-in, coined at the same mint as the originals.This truly stands on its own and brought a significant $5,750 at our 2012 sale.From the Downing Collection. Earlier from our sale of the Dorchester Heights Collection, August 2012 <st1:city w:st=on>Philadelphia</st1:city> ANA Sale, lot 4086.
