1826 Charles Carroll of Carrollton Medal. Julian PE-6. Silver. AU-55 (PCGS).
50.6 mm. 778.2 grains. A rare and important early U.S. Mint medal by Christian Gobrecht, struck to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the 90th birthday of its sole surviving signer on September 20, 1826. Deep iridescent gray surfaces show beautifully mingled original highlights of olive and navy blue. Scattered hairlines and minor marks are noted, including a couple tiny rim nicks at the base of the reverse, another above R of ENTERING, and a dull scrape under SIGNER. The visual appeal is excellent for the grade, and this level of preservation is pretty typical for this issue. The Carroll medals were distributed to family and friends, not numismatists, so nearly all were handled and polished over the years. David Tripp's study of this medal yielded a population of 17 silver medals and three in gold; six copper examples are known. It seems possible from the documentary evidence that the known silver and gold medals account for the entire original mintage, as the dies were extracted from the Mint and held by the family rather than left on deposit for decades of restriking. Five of the silver medals known are in institutional collections, leaving just 12 examples for collectors. John Ford liked these and amassed four silver specimens, in addition to the unique silver Edwards counterfeit in the following lot. The historical importance of this medal is great, connecting the era of the Revolutionaries who signed the Declaration to the era of Christian Gobrecht's time as Mint engraver. In some ways, the Gobrecht era ended in 1891, making this medal a rather staggering inflection point between the era of the Brown Bess and the era of the automobile. Charles Carroll, a Marylander, is buried in Annapolis. A rendition of this medal is on his modern grave marker today. We sold Syd Martin's PCGS MS-61 in November 2023 for $3,600. We've sold just two others in the two decades since the Ford assemblage was sold in October 2004.
From the Richard August Collection.

Estimate: $3000