1808 Benjamin Rush Medal. Sydenham Farm Reverse. By Moritz Furst. Julian PE-30. Bronze. Extremely Fine, Edge Bumps, Environmental Damage.

42.5 mm. A scarce and important early entry in the Mint's medallic series, this medal was one of Furst's initial accomplishments after his arrival in the United States in 1807. This piece may not be a perfect example, but it is attractively toned overall in original deep copper-brown. Streaks of olive-charcoal on the reverse and, to a lesser extent, the obverse explain our qualifier for environmental damage, and several light and moderate edge bruises are also noted. Most other marks are minor to small, although again accuracy considerations compel us to point out an ancient scratch in the upper left obverse field. Plenty of sharp detail remains despite light high point wear. This is an extremely rare type in silver, with only three specimens believed to have been struck in that composition, just two of which have been positively confirmed to exist (both are ex Ford). This is the first bronze impression that we have handled in recent decades, and there is some evidence that these may be early restrikes. Rare and worthy of serious consideration. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was also a well known physician in early America. Sydenham was the name Rush gave to a small farm belonging to Mrs. Benjamin Rush at what is now the intersection of Fifteenth Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue in Philadelphia. Rush called it his country home. Today, one block north is Temple University and one block west is N. Sydenham Street. The retreat was named after Rush's medical mentor, the English physician Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689), M.D. Cambridge (1676). Sydenham specialized in fevers and epidemic diseases like the plague. His plain speaking and commonsensical approach to diagnosis and treatment cut through the artifice of mystery with which the contemporary medical profession had surrounded itself and its ignorance. His ethics of practice demanded that physicians observe the particular natural history of a disease and assist the patient through it symptomatically. By the 1720s he was being named the English Hippocrates.

Estimate: $ 1000