Undated (ca. 1868) Grant / Our Next President medal by J.A. Bolen. Musante JAB-32. Brass. Marked “B” on edge. MS-65 (PCGS).

25.3 mm. 138.4 grains. Deep olive brass with bold golden green, violet, blue and fiery orange overtones on the obverse. The reverse is a bit less intensely toned, but in similar attractive colors. Well struck on a fairly thin planchet, with strong prooflike reflectivity in the fields on both sides and sharp wire rims. The Bowers specimen was considerably thicker than this and assumed to be a Bolen original based on that alone. However, this is Bolen's own example, marked on the edge, and on a thin flan. This once again clarifies that Bolen's originals either tend to be on thin flans or were variable in this respect. One of 14 reported to have been struck in this composition, though the Bowers specimen is the only other example in our online archives. Board Position: D 3/6

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