Worlds Columbian Exposition. Rejected Reverse Design of the Award Medal by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. 1975 Production by Buntin Foundry. Cast Bronze. 74.1 mm, 1.1 mm thick. Type of Eglit-330. As Made, but Fine to Very Fine Details. strongObv:/strong Full frontal standing figure of a nude male youth representing the Spirit of America, his left hand holding two wreaths and supporting a large shield upon which is an eagle, his outstretched right hand holding a torch. A tree is behind the shield, and the left field bears the inscription THE / COLVMBIAN / EXHIBITION / IN COMMEM / ORATION / OF / THE / FOVR HVNDREDTH / ANNIVERSARY / OF THE LANDING / OF COLVMBVS / TO / WILLIAM BRADFORD. strongRev:/strong Blank except for the hallmark of the Buntin Foundry, below which has been etched 6/10 and 1975. The story of the rejection of this design in favor of the one by Charles E. Barber is explained by the premature publication of Saint-Gaudens work and, more significantly, hostility between the artist and the Mints chief engraver. Only a handful of original cast examples of the Saint-Gaudens design are known, four of which actually came out of the Barber estate.According to the PCAC cataloger who handled this piece in the firms June 2010 sale, a relative of Saint-Gaudens brought a 74 mm plaster of this reverse design to the Buntin Foundry in Sherborn, Massachusetts and asked the owner, Robert Buntin, to make 10 sand cast bronze uniface medals. He did so, and they were marked on the reverse, as here. One of these pieces was donated to a museum along with the plaster, the remaining nine examples originally offered for sale at $350/each. From Presidential Coin and Antique Co., Incs Auction Eighty, June 2010, lot 296. Lot tag included.
