1869 Mint Director James Pollock Medal. By William Barber. Julian MT-5. Bronze. MS-64 BN (NGC). 77 mm. Warm autumn-brown patina with speckles of lighter color scattered about the obverse and around the reverse periphery. A couple of wispy handling marks in the fields are all that seem to preclude an even higher Mint State grade. Governor of Pennsylvania and two-term director of the U.S. Mint, Pollock was active in many of the Philadelphia Mints colorful activities involving creating American coin rarities for the collector market. As R.W. Julian notes, no exact date is known for the striking of the 45 mm silver Pollock medal or the present bronze issue. The distinctive wreath on the reverse also appears on the medal of Pollocks successor Dr. Henry R. Linderman, known to have been struck in 1872.
