New York--New York. 1835 William J. Mullen Gold Watch Dial Maker. Copper. 33 mm. HT-M17, Miller-NY 616. MS-64 RB (PCGS). An exquisite example, here boasting light golden brown surfaces with ample original mint red remaining in the fields and most protected areas of the devices and legends. Most seen are fully brown, are cleaned, or have only subtle hints of red. In addition, the surfaces are pristine, displaying no disfiguring marks or spots. This is the only piece given a Red-Brown designation by either NGC or PCGS, and is currently the finest example graded by either of those services; it very well may be the finest survivor of the type that is collected as part of both the Hard Times Token and Merchant token series. The dies are a tour-de-force thought to have been created by sculptor Louisa Lander (1826-1923) in 1847, an ornate masterpiece in miniature crafted by an artist of only 21 years of age. Lander went to Rome in 1855 and studied under Thomas Crawford, famed Rome-based American sculptor, who is famous for Freedom sculpture on the US Capitol dome. This is her only known foray as a medalist, and evidence points to its striking by Charles Cushing Wright.
