Undated (ca. 1863) Major General H.G. Berry / Liberty Cap Medal Muling. By George Hampden Lovett and John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB M/E-18. Silver. MS-64 (PCGS).
28 mm. A richly original steel-gray and antique gold specimen with a slightly lighter appearance on the reverse. Both sides are fully struck with a soft satin texture to smooth-looking surfaces. According to Musante, the reverse die was cut in 1862 by Bolen and sold to Mason, then to Dr. Edwards, and to Cogan with further intermediaries before it ended up in the holdings of the ANS. The obverse die is unaccounted for. The Lovett obverse paired with its original reverse, struck pieces in silver, copper, brass, and tin. This is only the second example of this muling that we can account for, the first being the Musante plate specimen that sold as lot 6654 in our January 2011 New York Americana Sale as part of the Q. David Bowers Collection. A lovely memorial to this fallen Major General who died at Chancellorsville in 1863 at the age of 38, having attained the highest military rank. The importance of this Bolen piece cannot be overstated. Whether or not you ever own this rare muling may well depend upon your success in this sale, for if this piece goes into a museum collection it will be forever lost to the private sector.