Circa 1816 Halliday medal. Musante GW-57, Baker-70. White Metal. Ornamented rims. SP-62 (PCGS).

53.7 mm. 813.7 grains. Brilliant and deeply prooflike surfaces with just a few tiny dark patina flecks noted. Slightly subdued in the fields from handling and the light hairlines that seem virtually unavoidable on large white metal pieces of this vintage. However, considering that two centuries have passed since the Halliday medals were struck, it is remarkable that any survive with as much eye appeal as this has to offer. The ornamented rims seen here are probably best described as a fine latticework pattern, one of three different rim treatments we have observed on the white metal Hallidays. These ornamentations were added after striking and perhaps used to finely finish the rims, in lieu of filing away fins or other rough artifacts that might have been left from the aging dies. The bronzes offered above, both from earlier states of the dies, each show evidence of a small rim break, so it must be assumed that later impressions from the dies might have worse degradation that would be neatly resolved by the finishing seen here. As noted above, this piece was struck after both of the bronzes offered in this sale, as evidenced by a small patch of spalling noted on the reverse, between the I and S of COMMISSION. Of the two white metal specimens offered here, this was the first struck. Evidence of this may be found at the lower right ground of the reverse, which is far better developed than seen on the example in the next lot. This is the nicest example we have seen since the November 2019 offering of the William Spohn Baker specimen. That piece, graded SP-63 (PCGS), also featured ornamented rims, but displayed a distinctive chevron pattern.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from Robert Batchelder; John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part II, May 2004, lot 98.