(ca. 1777) Medal Betts-544, GW-1, Voltaire, BN MS (PCGS#596347)
November 2020 U.S. Coins Auction
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 4261
- 等级
- MS63BN
- 价格
- 20,458
- 详细说明
- Handsome Voltaire Medal
Circa 1777 Voltaire Medal. Musante GW-1, Baker-78B. Copper. MS-63 BN (PCGS).
40.1 mm. 300.9 grains. Beautiful and choice deep olive brown surfaces with no marks worthy of mention. Glossy throughout with just the slightest natural surface deposits. Very nicely struck on a relatively thin flan, one of the lighter ones we have seen. Sharp definition throughout except for where, on the reverse, double striking interfered with the full expression of some of the fine details of the legend—an area of the design that is often a bit less clear on this issue. Still, this is a superb piece. Nicely centered with full rims framing the designs of both sides. Slightly convex on the obverse, another feature that is common to the “Voltaire” medal, so named long ago for the use of Voltaire’s own words on the reverse and the ensuing belief that he must have commissioned the work. This has been called into question in recent years. As nicely expressed by Neil Musante in his Medallic Washington, there is just about every reason to remove Voltaire’s hand from the process. We have elected to maintain the traditional name, however, as it is of very long standing.
It seems that this one has been off the market for many years. While we do not have the benefit of an extended provenance, it comes with an old envelope from New Netherlands Coin Company with two different prices penned on the front, “$27.50” and “$45—.” It has been quite a few decades since a Voltaire medal of any kind, let alone one this nice, could be bought for anything close to these prices!
Provenance: From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from New Netherlands Coin Company at an unknown date.
PCGS# 596347.
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