Circa 1849 Birth Centennial medal by Wright and Bale. Uniface. Musante GW-128-T1, Baker-74C. Copper. MS-63 BN (PCGS).46.1 mm. 527.6 grains. Light brown with rosy accents in the fields and traces of pale blue and violet mottling. This is an interesting piece that seems to have been struck uniface. We are only aware of two, this one and that plated in Musante. The Musante plate piece has obviously been planed down on the reverse while the texture of this one suggests that it was struck against some type of textured surface. The obverse die was rough, with a small break over the portrait and other irregularities that must have been from rusting or spalling. It was clearly freshened up before it was used to strike the next few issues, and that work might well have been what effaced most of WRIGHT & BALE from the lower reverse. It is present on this medal, though a bit flowlined and weakened. The fact that it was neither completely effaced nor strengthened before striking the later iteration of these medals is curious.Ex Charles I. Bushnell, S.H. and H. Chapman, June 1882, lot 1339; William Spohn Baker Collection, to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by bequest, November 15, 1897.
