1790 AE Medal GW-10, The Manly Medal, BN MS(PCGS#525704)

March 2021 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1063

等级

SP64

价格

70,978

详细说明

Exceptional 1790 Manly in Brass 1790 Manly Medal. Original Dies. Musante GW-10, Baker-61B. Brass. Specimen-64 (PCGS). 47.9 mm. 571.8 grains. An exceptional specimen, indeed, one of the finest we recall having handled and one we judged “perhaps the finest known specimen” just prior to the unveiling of the trove of outstanding medals in John J. Ford, Jr.’s holdings in May, 2004. Notwithstanding, this piece has every desirable attribute one could hope for in a Manly medal. The surfaces are glossy light olive and tan, and slightly mottled through the fields. Through the deep grooves of the interior rims will be found rich reddish copper, while faint traces of the same are seen in the recesses around the portrait. Well-struck on a cast flan of very nice quality, with just a trace of natural porosity and one lone natural void near 6:00 on the obverse. Just a few minor surface marks are visible upon close inspection, but none stands out individually. A small patina spot within the lower obverse rim is as close as this piece comes to an impairment, and this must be considered harsh language for what is seen on the medal when inspecting it in person. The sharpness and evenness of the impression are about as nice as one is likely to find, and the overall aesthetic appeal would be hard to overstate. The publisher’s name at the lower reverse is strongly impressed and clear, as are the other elements of the oftentimes weak reverse. An overlooked and flawed detail of the Manly medal designs, both on the originals of 1790 and the later re-issues of the 1850s, may be found in the date given for Washington’s birth. In both cases, it is presented as February 11, 1732, while on the later re-issues, “O.S.” is added to indicate that the “Old-Style” Julian calendar system is referenced. This is only partially correct. Once the standard was changed to the Gregorian calendar, in 1752, the day of Washington’s birth became February 22nd, so it was, in fact, February 11th, on the day he was born. The error is in the year. Until the Calendar Act of 1750, the legal beginning of the year in England (and presumably her colonies) was March 25th, so the date on the day Washington was born was actually February 11, 1731. When the Calendar Act altered the official beginning of the year to January 1st, the year of his birth shifted to 1732, on the New Style. Provenance: From James D. King; Jack Collins; our (Stack's) sale of April 1996, lot 62; our (American Numismatic Rarities') sale of January 2004, lot 1684.