Circa 1856 James Buchanan / Eight Presidents muling. Musante GW-156, Baker-382A, Dewitt-JB 1856-5. White Metal. MS-66 (PCGS).46.2 mm. 507.6 grains. Bright platinum gray on the dated side, with a sharp and satiny central portrait medallion of Washington. Fine die finishing lines through the fields give the piece a boldly lustrous cartwheel effect. The Eight Presidents side glitters with reflectivity through the fields of the portrait medallions, while the reliefs are satiny in strong contrast. The late, “restrike state” of this die as on all of the circa-1856 mulings, with some loss to the shallower details of the presidential busts. Beautiful surfaces without any pesting or other problems. A most handsome example of this very rare type. Our archives include only two examples of this piece in white metal, the August 2013 Ford example and one sold a year later.Ex William Spohn Baker Collection, to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by bequest, November 15, 1897.
