Circa 1800 Washington Funeral Medal. Funeral Urn. Musante GW-70, Baker-166A. Dies 1-B. Silver. AU-58 (PCGS). <p>29.4 mm. 145.3 grains. Neatly pierced for suspension at 12 o’clock. A lovely toned specimen of this famous rarity. The obverse exhibits somewhat deep rose mottling at the center, while toward the rims the colors deepen toward slate and blue-green. The reverse is a bit lighter overall with more silver gray remaining at the center, while rings of blue and gold iridescence create a slight bull’s eye appearance. Soft prooflike texture remains and the detail is superb throughout, this being a carefully handled example. Notwithstanding, a couple of faint scratches and other evidence of gentle wear are noted, including slight distortion at the suspension hole. Really handsome and exhibiting an earlier state of the dies than seen on the gold medal above, which was struck from the same pairing.<p><p><p>The short window of time between Washington’s passing, on December 14th, and the first of the numerous funeral processions introduces a degree of wonderment that Perkins could accomplish so much engraving and striking in time for the events. While Washington died on the 14th, the news of the day did not travel quickly, and yet, Perkins was advertising the medals for sale as early as January 3. With at least 14 dies having been individually hand-made, he must have devoted every waking hour to these issues from the time he learned the news to the time of sale. It is very clear how Perkins likely spent his Christmas in 1799.<p><p><p>This was the best example in silver from Ford, Part II, where Michael Hodder subtitled it, “The Finest Seen by the Cataloguer.” From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the F.C.C. Boyd Estate; John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stack’s) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part II, May 2004, lot 172; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006.
