Need Help With Rare 1805 George Washington Eccleston Medal

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 2,543
Benster7 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 06/17/2013 6:15 pm Hello! My name is Ben, and I'm a bit of an amateur historian. Recently, I inherited what I believe is a rare, fire gilted, gold-plated bronze Washington Eccleston Metal from 1805. Part of my family is old Virginian, with ties to the old aristocratic colonialists. My dilemma, is how rare this metal is. I would love your advice. I have heard conflicting things from different collectors. I know that there are several copper (and a few silver) versions of this metal that collectors trade from time to time. However, the late Joseph Lasser mentioned that "he only knew of one example" of the fire gilt metal here: http://www.history.org/foundation/j...wSite=mobile Thomas Jefferson was sent three copies of this metal, two of which were forwarded to Bushrod Washington and Supreme Court Justice John Marshall. He sold his metal at his estate sale in 1827 and it was donated back to Monticello in the 1940's: http://www.monticello.org/site/rese...s-medallions Thomas Jefferson wrote about the metals here: (hard to read) http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampag...&recNum=1043 The only other copy of this metal I've found was up for auction about thirteen years ago, but failed to make the minimum reserve: http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=248&lotNo=7513#Photo So this leaves me with the question, how many of the gold-plated versions of this metal are out there? Were more then a handful of these made considering how dangerous fire gilting was back then? Is something like this worth very much or is it more of an esoteric historical item? Thanks so much for any advice you may have. Ben Here are some images of the medal I have. (Has some superficial dirt- needs professional cleaning.) Edited by Benster7 06/17/2013 9:14 pm Report this Post to the Staff

amida17 Pillar of the Community United States 4897 Posts	Posted 06/17/2013 6:44 pm Welcome to the CCF! Can you post pics of the medal? Someone here will likely be able to help. This medal is listed as a Baker-85. There were electrotype reproductions made. Report this Post to the Staff
Benster7 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 06/17/2013 6:47 pm Hi Amida, I just added pictures to the original post above. Thanks, Ben Edited by Benster7 06/17/2013 9:21 pm Report this Post to the Staff
judd1552 Valued Member United States 156 Posts	Posted 06/17/2013 9:42 pm You should make an effort to contact John Kraljevich who specializes in this area of Americana, doing business as JK Americana. John has worked as a cataloger for Stack's, and is extremely knowledgeable about 18th and 19th century medals. I'm inclined to have the opinion that your medal may be a late 19th century restrike, with a more modern method of gilting employed. Edited by judd1552 06/17/2013 9:45 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Benster7 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 06/17/2013 10:31 pm Thanks very much for the recommendation, I appreciate it! I will contact him. I guess anything is possible, including a 19th century re-strike. Here is a closeup of Joseph Lasser's confirmed original: http://www.history.org/Foundation/j...805_face.gif http://www.history.org/Foundation/j...805_face.gif Report this Post to the Staff
Benster7 New Member United States 4 Posts	Posted 06/17/2013 10:38 pm Thanks very much for the recommendation, I appreciate it! I will contact him. I guess anything is possible, including a 19th century re-strike. Here is a closeup of Joseph Lasser's confirmed original: http://www.history.org/Foundation/j...805_face.gif http://www.history.org/Foundation/j...805_face.gif Report this Post to the Staff
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