Circa 1858 Manly medal. Second Obverse reissue. Musante GW-11, Baker-62B. Copper. MS-64 BN (PCGS).49.0 mm. 667.3 grains. Another delightful example of the second obverse Manly medal. Superb deep caramel and light mahogany brown with the faintest traces of faded red remaining at the upper central reverse. Glossy surfaces and just a couple of tiny handling marks, but virtually pristine otherwise. Struck on a significantly thinner flan than was employed for the piece above, but equally sharp and well-executed. A more advanced state of the dies with the G of GENERAL connected to the rim by a fine crack, and the first Es of RESIGNED and PRESIDENT similarly linked.<p>These reissued pieces were struck in the 1850s using the original Manly reverse, paired with a different obverse. As presented by Neil Musante, Manly died in 1795 and it was recorded that he had one son residing in London, his only living heir. In early auction catalogs this version of the Manly medal was occasionally referred to as from “English dies” or from “Lincoln’s dies,” the latter in E.L. Mason’s sale of November 1878. London coin dealer W.S. Lincoln was the distributor. It seems likely that the dies were part of Manly’s estate and were transferred to his son along with any other remaining personal property. What remains unknown is whether the new obverse die was accomplished in England, or if it was an unused version that traveled across the Atlantic alongside the original reverse. We suspect the former for two reasons: First, had Brooks engraved both obverses, he would have done so within a time span of about five years (from the first offering of the medal, to Manly’s death). In such a short time span, it seems unlikely that he would have used a different set of letter punches and, further, that he would have signed his name differently on the truncation of the bust. Secondly, we note that Washington’s date of birth is given in European style, with the day first, then month, and year on the second obverse, while it is in the American style on the original. This might be little more than artistic license, but it may also be a clue pointing to English or otherwise European origin.Ex William Spohn Baker Collection, to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by bequest, November 15, 1897
