1779 Medal Rhode Island, Wreath Below Ship Brass MS (PCGS#587)
The Summer 2022 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 8255
- 等级
- MS63
- 价格
- 53,779
- 详细说明
- Choice Mint State Rhode Island Ship Medal
With Wreath
"1778-1779" (ca. 1780) Rhode Island Ship Medal. Betts-563, W-1740. Wreath Below Ship. Brass. MS-63 (PCGS).
175.4 grains. 32.7 mm. A stunning example, with a wealth of original golden color remaining, the tint that pinchbeck was originally devised to display as an inexpensive alternative to gold or gilding. Strong luster persists on both sides, with pleasing glossy olive intermingling with the original brassy mint color. A few little areas of very shallow granularity hide here or there, but the overall appearance and quality of this piece is near gem. The ornament (or wreath, except for the fact that it's not a wreath) is crisp, though it barely covers "vlugtende." The "t" sticks out at center and several other letters are visible to a smaller degree.
Population data (and certified attributions) confuse the compositional makeup of this medal. In 30 years, your cataloger has never seen a "copper" example, though that is the predominant line item in the population reports. The cuprous examples are all struck from the same composition, something close to pinchbeck metal, which is usually described as 93% copper and 7% zinc. Sometimes some golden brassy color is visible, sometimes not. Adulterated surfaces will sometimes have a coppery sheen (or worse, a "red-brown" look that no original example could ever display). This alloy oxidizes over time, so most will have a coppery appearance after two and a half centuries. This one's wealth of original unoxidized color sets it apart.
Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Jeff Kierstead, April 1993.
PCGS Population: 4; 2 finer (MS-64).
PCGS# 587.
Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.
Click here to see Coins in Motion.[“Coins]
查看原拍卖信息