1860 U.S. Mint Cabinet Medal. Silver. 60 mm. Musante GW-241, Baker-326, Julian MT-23. Specimen. Unc Details--Damage (PCGS).This is a remarkably attractive specimen relative to the assigned grade. Both sides are originally toned, dominant pewter and olive-gray patina yielding to more vivid undertones of gold, blue, lilac and apricot as the surfaces dip into a light. Smartly impressed with sharp detail throughout, semi-reflective fields contrast nicely with the peripheries and central devices. Otherwise smooth in hand and generally well preserved, an unfortunate concentration of scuffs and grazes in the right reverse field explains the PCGS qualifier. This is a very rare type in silver, with a reported mintage of 122 pieces (versus 201 for the bronze impressions). In todays market, bronze examples easily outnumber the seldom seen silver pieces 10 to one. Rulau lists silver examples as Rarity-8, and Musante designates it as VS (i.e., Very Scarce). We offered a slightly worn, pleasantly toned specimen in our (Stacks) September 2006 sale that realized $2,530, while a nice Mint State piece brought $3,737.50 in our (Stacks) September 2010 Americana Sale. In our February 2015 Americana Sale, a Mint State specimen with a very distracting test mark in the obverse field brought $1,115.25, while a Choice About Uncirculated example netted $1,645 in our March 2017 Baltimore Auction. More recently, a PCGS-certified Specimen-63 realized $2,040 in our October 2018 Baltimore Auction, followed by the Mint State Q. David Bowers specimen that sold for $1,800 in our May 2019 Baltimore Auction. Notably, none were present in our various Ford sales.
