1876 Harlem Plains medal. George Lovett’s Balle Series, No. 4. Musante GW-887, Baker-443, HK-99. Silver. MS-64 (PCGS).

33.9 mm. 226.3 grains. Beautiful pearl gray surfaces with soft blue and rose mottling on both sides. Prooflike and beautifully preserved. As noted in our November 2020 sale where a complete set in silver was offered, "this is an extreme rarity in silver. Lovett's Battle series comes with two obverses, this, commonly referred to as the first, and another with a smaller portrait to left. We are aware of no mintage estimates for the first-obverse medals in silver, but W. Elliot Woodward wrote in his 1878 Henry Holland sale that those from the second obverse in silver were each unique. Considering the extreme rarity of these medals in silver, the situation is almost certainly not much different here." It seems likely that two sets were struck, but we have seen no evidence of more than that. This piece, from our 1975 Stanley Scott sale, duplicates the Garrett specimen sold in our November sale last year, while a lone silver example of Moore's Creek was offered in our Jack Collins fixed price list. Presumably, this piece and the Moore's Creek are part of a second set in silver that got dismantled long ago.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from our (Bowers and Ruddy's) sale of the Stanley DeForest Scott Collection, June 1975, lot 573.