"1871" Medal Cunningham 7-070Bz Bronze 45mm Emancipation Proc. Restrike SP66 认证号45656275, PCGS号916209

1871 Abraham Lincoln / Emancipation Proclamation medal. Bronze, 45 mm. Julian CM-16. Dies by William Barber. The surfaces are light mahogany with plenty of underlying gold and pale blue, lustrous and eye-catching. The high profile portrait of Lincoln has the merest whisper of cabinet friction on a single strand of hair, far less than usually encountered. There were 363 pieces struck in bronze between 1871 (when the first 45 pieces were struck) and 1904. The biggest single mintage year was 1872, with 155; after that, most years were 5, 10, or none at all, as demand required. It is no great surprise that Mint Director James Pollock, whose name appears at the base of the reverse, thought to honor Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation -- he got to know Lincoln well when they were both Congressmen and both roomed at Mrs. Anne Spriggs' boardinghouse, where Pollock's better-refined anti-slavery ideas may have informed Lincoln's evolving opinion on the issue. After Pollock chose not to run again for Governor of Pennsylvania, Lincoln appointed him to be Director of the Mint. This medal is something of a thank you memorial card from Pollack to Lincoln.