1776 (1876) United States Diplomatic Medal. U.S. Mint Copy Dies. Bronze. 67.9 mm. Julian CM-15. MS-67 BN (NGC). This is one of just a handful struck from dies prepared by Charles Barber, copying from cliches of the adopted obverse and unadopted reverse made available to him in 1875. A single silver specimen is recorded on the mintage figures for the 1876/77 fiscal year, likely the one sent in April 1876 to Professor Jules Marcou, who supplied his original Diplomatic Medal cliches to the U.S. Mint to serve as models for William Barbers copy dies. According to Mint records, just 65 pieces were struck in copper from these dies between 1876 and 1904. Originals are beyond the realm of possibility for most, making this version of the Diplomatic Medal a very desirable item. The Chapmans bitterly called this production a "US Mint counterfeit" after they failed to sell their original to the Mint Collection. On the other hand, Elizabeth Bryant Johnston, writing in <em>A Visit to the Cabinet of the United States Mint at Philadelphia</em>, 1876, noted, "the reproduction by C. Barber is finely executed, and the bronzing exceptionally beautiful." We could not agree more with this assessment, the differences between the original Diplomatic Medal design and these Barber-created restrike dies lie mostly in the placement and size of the legends. Light ruddy brown surfaces are essentially flawless, hosting tinges of iridescent blue and olives when the medal is rotated in the light. One of the finest examples we have handled, this example hails from the illustrious medals collection of Herman Halpern, who was known for the super quality of his collections. His medals were sold privately as a collection in the 1990s and are now being offered piecemeal in the market. So it is not surprising that this has received the grade of MS-67 BN, catapulting it to the top of the NGC Census, where it resides with only two other specimens graded MS-67 BN. The finest graded by PCGS is only SP-66. With just 4 original Diplomatic Medals known, only 3 of which are in private hands, the chances of the average collector owning an original are slim, especially in light of the $188,000.00 auction record for one with original hanger we sold in our October 2015 Rarities Auction, or the more recent $126,000 for the John Adams Collection specimen in our November 2019 Baltimore auction. The Barber restrikes, of which this is one of the finest survivors, are a good replacement, and it is no wonder that lesser quality examples of these beautiful Centennial restrikes have sold in excess of $7000 at auction.This is a very scarce medal. A single silver specimen is recorded on the mintage figures for the 1876/77 fiscal year, likely the one sent in April 1876 to Professor Jules Marcou, who supplied his original Diplomatic Medal cliches to the U.S. Mint to serve as models for William Barbers copy dies. According to Mint records, just 65 pieces were struck in copper from these dies between 1876 and 1904. Originals are beyond the realm of possibility for most, making this version of the Diplomatic Medal a very desirable item. The Chapmans bitterly called this production a "US Mint counterfeit" after they failed to sell their original to the Mint Collection. <em>From the Herman Halpern Collection. </em>
