Undated (ca. 1875?) Signing of the Declaration of Independence / Signers of the Declaration of Independence Medal. Uniface Electrotype. Baker-53M. Mint State.90 mm. A one-sided electrotype, as produced, featuring just the reverse of this very rare medal, showing a facsimile of all 59 signatories of the Declaration of Independence. The complete medal, produced exclusively through the medium of electrotyping, featuring this design on one side and Wrights rendition of Trumbulls depiction of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the other side. When this very rare medal was produced, apparently this was produced to show just one side of it, with the copper shell of all the signatures of the signers of the Declaration of Independence appropriately lead-backed but never joined to the Wright-designed Signing obverse. The color is an appealing light brown, still somewhat lively and looking much as it did in the time of production; the blank obverse is leaden gray. This electrotype medal seems to appear on the market around 1880, and the 1884 Thomas Warner sale includes one described as electrotypes, as are all. While the complete medal is very rare, it is not quite as rare as the <em>100 Greatest Medals and Tokens</em> book suggests (they offer a population of two known; there are probably more like eight to 10 known). This uniface production, however, is extremely rare, and it would make a fine addition to a sophisticated American medal cabinet.From the Martin Logies Collection. Earlier from Presidential Coin & Antique Co., Inc.s Auction Eighty-Four, June 2014, lot 342; our Baltimore Auction of November 2012, lot 107. Lot tags included.
