1867 J.A. Bolen Store Card / Libertas Americana. Musante JAB-30. Brass. Marked “B 1 IN BRASS” on edge. MS-64 (PCGS).

25.4 mm. 146.8 grains. Warm golden brass with soft rose toning and just a trace of superficial spotting that seems almost unavoidable for this composition. Boldly struck on a thick flan with superb eye appeal. One thin scratch is noted in the field, near the date. It has long been believed that only a single specimen was struck in brass, an assertion that not only appears directly on the edge of this piece, but one that was written into Bolen's own notebook by Major Charles P. Nichols, and then published in the AJN in 1868. It was likewise published by Edwin Johnson in 1882. As he is said to have worked at least in part from Bolen's own medals, that information would have been either derived from or supported by the edge of this medal. The fact is that there are at least two known. We sold another in November 2017, which we had no reason to believe was not the unique impression in brass at the time. Clearly, the published mintage of one medal refers directly to this specimen. As mentioned in the 1868 AJN listing (and elsewhere in this catalog), Bolen did not maintain an inventory of his medals for sale and would strike them upon request. This is probably the reason that so many cases appear where published mintages do not match reality as, inevitably, an order would arrive after a number was published. This is probably the case with this issue in brass. It can't be disputed, however, that this was initially intended to be unique in this metal, and that this is the one. However, it is worth mentioning that any additional impressions in any metal are from Bolen's shop. He sold the Libertas die to Kline in 1872, but he destroyed his own 1867-dated portrait die, so no one else could have produced examples of JAB-30, at any time. Board Position: D 3/1

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from the personal reference collection of John Adams Bolen.