"1862" (ca. 1870s) Great Seal of the Confederacy. Electrotype. Musante GW-564, Baker-Unlisted. Brass Shell. Mint State.
96 mm, irregular and untrimmed around edge. 19.56 grams. With a single tiny piecing on edge at 2 o'clock for mounting. The details of the seal are crisp and fully executed with virtually no signs of obvious handling. Handsome brassy-olive color overall with some deeper bronze tinting outlining the peripheral design elements. Examples of this type were often mounted for display, although this piece was not and retains a rough, irregular edge, as made. The original seal design was finalized on April 30, 1863, and features an equestrian Washington portrait at center, with the inscription, THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA : 22 FEBRUARY 1862 * DEO VINDICE * around. Readers of this sale will likely know that February 22nd was Washington's birthday, but it was also the day selected for CSA President Jefferson Davis' inauguration. The original embossing dies were produced by Joseph S. Wyon in England, and shipped to the Confederate States. Electrotype copies such as this are said to have been made in the 1870s and sold in limited numbers to raise funds for the benefit of Confederate widows and orphans, according to research by Musante.