1790 Manly medal. Original dies. Musante GW-10, Baker-61B. Brass. SP-63 (PCGS).48.9 mm. 622.6 grains. The obverse is largely deep tan and olive brown mottled through the fields, while the recesses, particularly those deep in the rims, are darker and nicely frame the design. A small and harmless crusty deposit is noted at the IA of VIRGINIA while nuances of golden brass are still seen in a few protected areas. The reverse is lighter, with intense golden brass remaining through the legends, nicely accentuating the letters which have toned deep olive. The fields are a bit lighter brown, with areas of light olive and others of coppery rose. The aesthetic result would be hard to beat for the grade.<p>Nicely struck with sharp, even rims and the detail is not just clear (which is frequently “good enough” for a Manly), but is strong throughout. The reverse is double struck, as often seen, yet even Manly’s signature and the date are easily discerned. Only light handling is evident and there are no marks worthy of mention. A few scattered casting voids are seen, which are <em>as made</em>, and standard fare for the series.<p>A most handsome specimen of this classic early issue, the first Washington portrait medal struck in the United States and one of the very few that Washington himself would have seen. The vast majority of the medallic art bearing a likeness of the first president has been produced since his death in 1799, which sets these earliest pieces apart in a meaningful way. It is these contemporaries of Washington who might have <em>expected</em> Washington to see their works, or even made sure of it as in the case of Samuel Brooks who engraved the Manly dies. In this way they might have captured for themselves the personal attention of the man, the first American celebrity, even if for a brief time. In Brook’s case, it seems to have gone a step further as, in 1793, he applied directly to Washington hoping to gain appointment as an engraver in the newly established U.S. Mint.<p>As a technical note regarding the composition, an XRF test (X-Ray Fluorescence) was performed on this piece which identified it to be 92% copper, and 8% zinc. This is brass, which is defined quite specifically as an alloy of copper and zinc. In numismatics, there is quite a bit of guesswork in deciding compositions between copper, bronze and brass, the latter usually being the easiest to spot due to its usually lighter olive tone. The definition of bronze is a cuprous alloy usually containing tin, and possibly other elements, even zinc, in theoretically any ratio. Copper would be the pure element, with the natural possibility of trace elements.Ex William Spohn Baker Collection, to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by bequest, November 15, 1897. Probably earlier from the Charles I. Bushnell Collection, as Baker was a buyer of a “copper” specimen, lot 1284. However, it is uncertain which of the examples here might be that medal. As the nicest of the three, this one is a good possibility, as Bushnell is reported to have upgraded his collection until he had the nicest he had seen. It is difficult to imagine he would have settled for one with Manly’s name removed, as in the next lot, and the holed one following would be out of the question.
