Circa 1816 Halliday medal. Musante GW-57, Baker-70C. Bronze. Ornamented rims. SP-65 BN (PCGS). 53.6 mm. 1464.5 grains. An exceptionally attractive example of this classic medal. Rich chocolate and olive brown surfaces with traces of mahogany patina. Almost completely free of the woodgrain striations frequently seen on examples with this lighter brown finish. Glossy, unusually uniform and struck on an unusually thick flan with ornamented rims. There are no handling marks worthy of mention and only a few tiny dark flecks in the patina. It is hard to imagine a more attractive Halliday medal. We have published previously that the ornamented rim types struck in white metal come with three different variations in the ornamentations. The bronzes with this feature seem to all have the same treatment, that being fine, parallel radial lines. A small irregularity on the obverse rim of this piece might explain the purpose of the rim treatments. When comparing this piece to the that offered in the next lot, it becomes clear that the small irregularity is a shallow rim break. Perhaps the rim break was seen as an imperfection and these rim ornaments were applied to even out the appearance. This is not likely to ever be sorted with certainty, but it is an intriguing possibility. The Halliday medal was identified by William Spohn Baker as "the most important medal in this group [Military and Civil Career] in an artistic point of view." He also referred to the Halliday as the "original" when compared with the dies cut by John Reich for Joseph Sansom, but we agree with the dating given by Rulau and Fuld, as circa 1816, placing the Halliday after Sansoms work. A more complete discussion of this matter may be found in our November 2019 sale of the Baker specimen, at lot 20032. <em>From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from F.C.C. Boyd; John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part II, May 2004, lot 97. </em><em></em>
