1832 Henry Clay Campaign Medal. DeWitt-HC 1832-1. White Metal. MS-64 (NGC).
40 mm. A classic Henry Clay portrait medal, offering the finest portrait among the medals struck for the 1832 campaign. Though Clay was a candidate in 1824, this was the first of his Presidential campaigns to be marked by medals. Dewitt lists just three varieties, two of which use this portrait by Charles Cushing Wright. This is the larger of the two versions. The other variety, HC 1832-2, displays a goofy bust of Clay that Dewitt attributes (incorrectly, it would seem) to C.C. Wright as well. This is a genuinely scarce medal. The Ford Collection was a cabinet of cabinets that folded Wayte Raymond's holdings together with those of F.C.C. Boyd, the market gorilla of his day who acquired all or most of the medals from the Ramsey McCoy collection, which was assembled beginning in the 1860s. With decades of market dominance by himself and his predecessors, Ford owned three of these: a worn specimen in silver and two in white metal. This was the best preserved of his three specimens by a long shot; the other white metal example was a pesty example with a hole. The present example is boldly lustrous, free from any corrosion or pest. Some inherent granularity or orange peel texture is seen, and Clay's cheek shows a bit of friction. Four small rim bruises are located at the prongs in the encapsulation. Wright's signature C.C.W. is easily seen at the bust truncation. Since this medal was sold in the 2013 Ford sale, we've offered only one other example, a holed EF piece in white metal in our March 2018 sale. Nothing close to this nice has been on the market in decades, as this piece surpasses the examples in Dewitt and other public offerings.
From the Harry and Phyllis Salyards Collection. Earlier ex Wayte Raymond; F.C.C. Boyd estate; John J. Ford, Jr.; our sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XXIV, September 2013, lot 10228.

Estimate: $500