“1781” (ca. 1871) John Eager Howard at Cowpens Medal. Betts-595, Julian MI-9. Bronze, 45.0 mm. US Mint “gunmetal” dies. MS-63 (PCGS).

723.2 grains. Plain edge. Lustrous rose and olive with some subtle hairlines, most visible on the reverse. A sharp and handsome piece, though not a Paris Mint original as John Ford believed (and as it was cataloged in the 2006 Ford sale). Syd's envelopes note that this piece had a "thick flan, squared edges" and contrasted it with the "thin flan, concave edges) of the previous lot. To best underscore the contrast, Syd bought both of these from the 2006 Ford sale, bidding with number 555. What Syd had noticed, but wasn't well understood at that time, is that this medal and others like it were actually struck from the U.S. Mint's "gunmetal" dies. Aside from the difference in planchet stock and edge topography that Syd noticed, the diameter of this piece is shorter by over a millimeter, and the rims are flat and wide, rather than the more delicate two-step interior rim on the medal struck from the original dies. A wire rim or fin is seen around much of the periphery, a characteristic never seen on the Paris Mint strikes. The reverse die in particular shows distinguishing characteristics, like the vertical lapping lines that appear on the die beneath XXX of the date and the single vertical lapping line through E of ACIEM. Another tell is the floating serif from the overly polished E in PRAEFECTO. While the surface and color of this piece don't quite match the usual bronzed surface seen on Philadelphia Mint strikes, this is probably due to later handling and light cleaning. As we noted in the November 2019 Adams sale, "According to Julian, the Howard 'gunmetal' dies were prepared in 1868, but they don't appear to have been put into use until 1871, when a grand total of three were struck. Five more were struck in 1873, another five in 1874, 10 in 1875, and 13 in 1879. It appears that all Howard medals struck at the Philadelphia Mint after that were coined from newly cut copy dies which, despite being engraved REPRODUCTION 1881, weren't coined until 1884 at the earliest. Based upon the published records, the total mintage of John Eager Howard medals from the bell-metal dies appears to be just 36 pieces, all in bronze, placing this among the rarest medals struck by the United States Mint."

PCGS# 684292.

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From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex A.H. Baldwin & Sons, Ltd, June 1969; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford Jr. Collection; Part XIV, May 2006, Lot 220.