Circa 1858 Manly medal. Second Obverse reissue. Musante GW-11, Baker-62B. Copper. SP-64 BN (PCGS). 49.4 mm. 676.9 grains. Light mahogany brown with gentle mottling of residual tan seen on both sides. Beautiful satiny luster and superb eye appeal. One tiny nick off Washingtons brow catches the eye, while a couple of subtle spots are noted on each side, one at the SH of WASHINGTON and the other at the ES of STATES. Boldly struck and fairly well centered with strong detail throughout. Fairly well developed rims, which is not always the case on these reissues. Struck from the same reverse die as used on the originals but in a much later state, with a few die cracks of varying severity and small patches of light spalling. It has also been lapped, with some details perhaps strengthened a bit.<p> <p>As discussed in our November 2019 sale of the William Spohn Baker specimen, "In early auction catalogs this version of the Manly medal was occasionally referred to as from English dies or from Lincolns dies, the latter in E.L. Masons sale of November 1878. London coin dealer W.S. Lincoln was the distributor. It seems likely that the [original] dies were part of Manlys estate and were transferred to his son along with any other remaining personal property. What remains unknown is whether the new obverse die was accomplished in England, or if it was an unused version that traveled across the Atlantic alongside the original reverse. We suspect the former for two reasons: First, had Brooks engraved both obverses, he would have done so within a time span of about five years (from the first offering of the medal to Manlys death). In such a short time span, it seems unlikely that he would have used a different set of letter punches and, further, that he would have signed his name differently on the truncation of the bust. Secondly, we note that Washingtons date of birth is given in European style, with the day first, then month, and year on the second obverse, while it is in the American style on the original. This might be little more than artistic license, but it may also be a clue pointing to English or otherwise European origin." <em>From the E Pluribus Unum Collection.</em><em></em>
