"1799" (ca. 1800) Washington Funeral Urn Medal. GW on Base. Musante GW-72, Baker-167, Fuld Dies 6-F. White Metal. VF-25 (PCGS).

27.8 mm. 90.2 grains. Medium pewter gray with very gentle mottling on the obverse, but a wholly uniform patina on the reverse. Not pierced as usually issued, not bent and free of pesting - all qualities that are utterly remarkable for this type in this composition. Still, this is clearly a well-handled piece with fine marks scattered about both sides and a modest bit of wear, but the surfaces remain pleasantly glossy. Fairly well struck, with excellent and well-balanced detail remaining. In fact, the remaining detail is not much softer than what was seen on the AU-50 example of this same rare type sold in our Sydney F. Martin Collection offering in November 2022 (lot 2090), so it is impossible to not point out that the grade assigned by PCGS seems a bit conservative. When we wrote the Martin sale, that piece, the Musante plate, was the only example known without the suspension piercing. It was described as the second finest known of this extremely rare type and remains so. This example, a new one as far as we are aware, easily ranks as the third finest known of the type. Most collections are missing this design, with the GW block letters on the base of the urn, rather than emblazoned on the bowl in script, and they have rarely appeared for sale. The recent offerings from the landmark Partrick and Martin Collections in close proximity should not be taken as a sign that this is a type that will come around again anytime soon. The Martin Collection specimen, which realized $19,200, was the most recent sold. In that presentation we included a listing of the known examples of the GW on Base medals, in order of descending quality, which we reprint here with the insertion of this example. The six known from die combination 6-F, in descending order of quality, are as follows: 1 - Ex our sale of May 2019, lot 3268. Unpierced. 2 - Ex our ANA Auction of August 2013, lot 4010; Sydney F. Martin Collection. 3 - The present example. Unpierced. 4 - Ex our (Stack's) sale of January 2007, lot 6711. 5 - Ex our (Bowers and Ruddy's sale of the Sieck Collection, July 1981, lot 2650; Donald G. Partrick; Heritage's sale of the Partrick Collection, March 2021, lot 15167. 6 - Ex Heritage's CSNS Signature Auction of April 2013, lot 10268. Considering the rarity of the GW on Base type overall, it is worth listing the two known examples from Die Pair 7-G, also in descending order of quality: 1 - Ex our (Stack's) sale of January 2007, lot 6710. 2 - Ex Donald G. Partrick; Heritage's sale of the Partrick Collection, March 2021, lot 15166 (likely the Sylvester S. Crosby specimen offered by Empire Coin Company, in 1962, and partially mis-identified as GW-72 by the Heritage writer). And these are the two we are aware of from the 5-E die combination: 1 - The Musante Plate used to illustrate these dies. 2 - Ex our Baltimore Auction of November 2015, lot 23421. With just 10 GW on Base funeral medals known, and some of those utterly abysmal in condition, this example in perfectly lovely, problem-free condition is a prize indeed.

PCGS# 542329.