Washington Before Boston medal. Fourth Paris Mint issue(ca. 1860-1879). First Issued “Original” Obverse / Third Issued Reverse. Musante GW-09-P3, Baker-48G. Bronze. Small-size Bee and CUIVRE on edge. Choice Mint State.<p>69.0 mm, 2500.9 grains. Handsome and quite uniform mahogany bronze with gentle accents of violet, blue and gold through the reflective fields. Only a couple of trivial marks are detected under magnification, but without it the surfaces seem virtually pristine. Sharp satiny devices and no visible breaks in the lovely patina. Handling this piece and the other Washington medals in the LaRiviere Collection two decades ago sparked the writer’s own interest in the series, not just for the beautiful designs and interesting themes, but very significantly for the quality seen throughout that collection. This piece has been beautifully preserved since then, in the care of thoughtful numismatists. <p><p><p> <p>As noted above, there are four specimens here with the Bee privy mark, and three distinctive styles of mark. This medal has a small Bee with CUIVRE in small letters. It was the second struck of the four present here. Two thin, diagonal die lines are visible in the field left of the leftmost officer, and a thin long die line is now seen through the STIB of HOSTIBUS. Die lines beneath TON of BOSTONIUM and CUPER of RECUPERATUM are present here, as on the earlier state, but weaker.<p>From the Collection of Marc McDonald. Earlier ex Sothebys, October 1993, lot 101; Lucien LaRiviere, Bowers and Merena, November 1999, lot3035; John W. Adams Collection, via John Kraljevich, circa 2013. <strong><p></strong>
