1759 The End Crowns the Work medal. Betts-423. Tin. About Uncirculated.
33.7 mm. 143.6 grains. Glossy deep pewter gray with some surviving silvery luster in protected areas. The surfaces are oxidized and somewhat wavy, despite their smooth appearance and natural gloss. Some flakes of metal loss are noted, mostly around the rim, all small and not impacting design elements. All motifs are crisp and well defined. The obverse is cracked at lower right, with three nearly parallel breaks giving the field there a terraced appearance. The longest of those cracks arcs beneath the shoulder truncation, from X of REX to 6:00. This is a rare medal. While Betts and Medallic Illustrations list this medal exclusively in silver, we've only seen it in tin. In fact, we've seen just two of these - this piece and the inferior Adams specimen - and they both came from the same 1989 English auction. The Adams specimen was the last sold, bringing $5,462 in January 2012. LaRiviere never had one, and we're guessing you, gentle reader, don't have one either.
From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from Glendining's sale of March 1989, lot 589C; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIV, May 2006, lot 85.
Price realized | 2'600 USD |
Starting price | 1 USD |
Estimate | 2'000 USD |