1883 Washington of Virginia medal. Massamore Restrike. Musante GW-352R, Baker-64B. Copper. MS-64 RB (PCGS).

34.3 mm. 565.5 grains. Somewhat deeply toned on the obverse with deep orange, blue-green and olive mottling, while the reverse retains much of the original light orange red with just slight mellowing in the exposed fields. Sharply struck in impressive relief, as usual, with thin wire rims in places. As noted in the previous lot, this piece, along with 20 others in copper, and 21 each in silver and brass, were struck to distribute to prominent collectors on January 11, 1883. George Massamore, who had a hand in their production, reported that the dies had had been destroyed afterward, bringing to a close what had begun years earlier as a complex fraud around 1860, with the striking of perhaps only four "originals" to sell as earlier medals to unsuspecting collectors. One of those originals appeared in our November 2019 sale of the William Spohn Baker Collection and realized $9,600.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection.