Military Medals

"1756" (post-1874) Colonel John Armstrong / Kittanning Destroyed Medal. Copy Dies. Julian MI-33, Betts-400. Silver. Mint State.

48.3 mm. 856.2 grains. A handsome piece whose otherwise untoned surfaces exhibit iridescent reddish-olive outlines to the peripheral features on the obverse. Both sides are sharply defined with a soft matte-like texture to the finish that reveals fine-grain sandblast qualities when observed with the aid of a loupe. The original dies for this type were brought to the United States Mint by Joseph Richardson circa 1800. The Mint produced restrikes from those dies from the earliest days of the 19th century through about 1874. At that time a new set of dies were introduced, the original ones having shown considerable evidence of failure even as early as the 1860s. The present example is a later impression from the copy dies, as evidenced by the prominent obverse border break from 9 o'clock to 10:30.

Estimate: 750