1864 U.S. Colored Troops Before Richmond Medal. By Anthony C. Paquet. Julian MI-30. Copper. MS-64 BN (PCGS). 38 mm. A marvelous, fully Choice example of this classic rarity in the United States Mints Military medal series. Satiny surfaces retain original mint color in pinkish-apricot that shines powerfully through an overlay of warm autumn-brown patina. Powder blue undertones are also noted, especially for the reverse. Fully struck and carefully preserved to evoke thoughts of an even higher numeric grade. A beautiful medal, certainly among the best preserved of just 11 specimens struck in copper. Several cracks in the PCGS holder in the area of the lower obverse border of the medal are noted.<p>The dies, accomplished by Anthony C. Paquet at the Philadelphia Mint, were personally commissioned and paid for by General Benjamin Butler. Many sources attribute these medals to Tiffany & Co., but Mint records show 197 silver and 11 bronze examples being struck in Philadelphia. Further, a letter from Reuben D. Mussey, private secretary to President Andrew Johnson, dated July 1, 1865 noted:<p><em>"I saw at the Mint the other day some medals ordered by you for colored troops. I wish very much to procure one of them. I am not a colored soldier nor have I ever shown conspicuous bravery, but directly and indirectly with putting arms into the hands of ten thousand colored soldiers. The Director of the Mint informed me that it was necessary to have your permission to purchase one."</em><p>This letter appears in private and official correspondence of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler: during the period of the Civil War, Volume 5. Butler conceived of the medal as an American answer to the medals issued to veterans of the Crimean War, but to recognize in particular the bravery of the African-American troops who served under his command during the Richmond-Petersburg campaign. The legend can be translated to "Freedom will be theirs by the sword," an appropriate epitaph for those who so served. Today, this ranks among the rarest and most desirable medals in the U.S. Military series. Our last offering of a bronze example, in our August 2013 Chicago ANA Auction, brought $11,750. An awarded specimen in silver, from our (Stacks) January 2009 Americana Sale, sold for a record $34,500. Were this medal as famous among numismatists as it is among historians, they might have brought considerably more.
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