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首席收藏网 > 数据中心 > Stack's Bowers and Ponterio > SBP2019年11月巴尔地摩#1-美国钱币

Lot:43 Washington Before Boston medal. Second Paris Mint issue. First Issued “Original” Obverse / Second Is

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USD 10000

SBP2019年11月巴尔地摩#1-美国钱币

2019-11-14 05:00:00

2019-11-14 09:00:00

USD 11400

SBP

成交

Washington Before Boston medal. Second Paris Mint issue. First Issued “Original” Obverse / Second Issued Reverse with Error Date. Musante GW-09-P2, Baker-47Z. Bronze. Plain Edge. Mint State. <p>68.1 mm, 2565.3 grains. A beautiful specimen of this extremely rare variation. Deep chocolate brown surfaces display nuances of chestnut and light mahogany mottling when viewed under strong light. Traces of steel blue are also noted in the pleasantly reflective fields, which contrast nicely with the lustrous and satiny devices. Just a few tiny marks are scattered about, the most notable a thin one underlining UG of FUGATIS on there verse. Otherwise, none are worthy of specific mention and only the faintest break in the patina is seen at the highest point of Washingtons hair relief. Fine file marks on the rims were almost certainly from the maker, where wire rims were taken down, as was customary at the time.<p><p><p><p>Due to the erroneous date in the reverse exergue, which was later corrected, this type was long believed to be the abandoned earliest version, predating what we now call the "originals" (including Washingtons gold specimen). Though this reverse may have been cut first, an uncertain detail, it was not paired with the original obverse die and put into service until after the reverse die used on the original had begun to fail by way of a large buckling through the upper center of the die. The advancement of the obverse die state between the impressions of the originals in gold, silver and bronze and these variants with the error reverse dictate this emission sequence.<p><p><p><p>Close study of this reverse reveals that the error was in the final punching of the Roman numerals, while the proper date was clearly intended from the outset. A fine guideline is visible left of where the date begins, indicating where the first digit was to have been sunk in the steel, though it was punched one position too far to the right. <p><p><p><p>It would seem that very few medals were struck from this reverse before the problem was discovered and the die was reworked. Most are fairly well preserved, but capturing one is a great challenge. This is the third specimen examined by the writer, but the firm has handled a total of four spanning the last 33 years. These appeared in our 1986 Dreyfuss Collection sale (apparently the first to appear at auction in the United States), the 1999 Lucien LaRiviere Collection (the first cataloged by this writer), the May 2004 John J. Ford, Jr. Collection and in the present sale. When the Ford sale was written, the cataloger was aware of just three specimens. Today we know of six, one of which is a likely permanent resident at Mount Vernon. This count does not include that plated by Musante and listed as a "struck medal." We have not studied that piece directly. However, the apparent waviness of the fields, a small dent behind the portrait and the lack of an obverse spall all suggest to us a well-made electrotype. Other electrotype shells exist of this die pairing without obverse spalling, and two additional such sets (fused into completed two-sided electrotypes) are also imaged in the same reference, for easy comparison. <p><p><p><p>While the First Paris Mint issues are always considered key to any advanced cabinet of Washington medals, relatively speaking, they are common enough in bronze. These error reverse examples are far rarer and deserve careful consideration by advanced collectors. Regardless of the question of when the die was actually cut, its employment in striking represents the first time the manufacturer came to understand that the demand for this historic medal was extending well beyond the life of the original die pair and that steps would have to be taken to meet the continuing demand. The error itself represents a failure of the Paris Mint controls, and a rare one, at that, but it might also point to a degree of urgency to fill orders for the Washington Before Boston medal quite early in the 19th century, or even before. As such, it speaks to very early collector demand for this memorial to Washington, a demand that has continued to the present day. Of the six known to us, this is one of the finest, perhaps tied with the Ford specimen, but certainly nicer than Dreyfuss, LaRivieres, Mount Vernons and a damaged one listed in our Census of pieces.<p>From the Collection of Marc McDonald. Earlier ex Presidential Coin and Antique, December 2001, lot 197; Presidential Coin and Antique, December 2004, lot 225.<p>

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