A Continuing Thread ~ Post Your Tokens, Medals, Exonumia Acquisitions

An update to that lot of 39 Franklin Mint medals,

what a tragedy. 22 medals in their original FM packages were irreparably damaged due to the reaction of the flimsy "plastic" packaging in contact with the medal. The thin material had some adverse reaction to the medal causing it to ripple and contact the medals which transferred a permanent residue on the surface of the medal. A bit like the action of PVC material on coins.

Acetone had no effect, I even bought some GOOF OFF remover to no avail.

I have negotiated a sizeable discount from the seller whom I take it is not a coin person. As bad luck would have it, the damaged coins were some of the most interesting topics.

As a caution to other collectors - proceed carefully if contemplating FB medals in the green displays paying attention to the plastic. Seem to be limited to early 1969 mintings. I've scanned ebay for similar and this occurrence appears to be abundant.

Any suggestions as to what to do with these other than disposing of them? I thought about opening the packages and simply discarding them one at a time in grassy areas for someone to eventually "find."

A couple from that lot which were in collectible shape

Corpus Christie 450th Anniversary
and
The Flying Scotsman
which I've mounted for my album:

Here's a Wood 11 Canadian Blacksmith half penny token (1820-1860) I recently picked up.

I know it isn't considered a true contemporary counterfeit, but is instead evasion currency, but it has piqued my interest in the subject.




Thanks for looking.

999 Sorry to hear that your medals had reacted to the plastic. Wish you hadn't tried fixing them. Now you might have no recourse in returning them. I hope you got a sizable discount with your complaint.
Jeepers, I feel bad for you.
I have no suggestion, I know any kind of dip will discolor them and probably make them a dull pinkish color.
Maybe they are just the way you'll have to accept them as being, and chalk it up as a lesson learned.

Try not to buy bulk lots where you can't clearly see the conditions of individual items clearly in the future.
Hope you aren't out too much on these. Feel pretty bad for you on this.


Nice Blacksmith Token Standfast! I have a
Wood 33
Probably the most common of all Canadian Colonial Copper Blacksmith Tokens.
I always wanted one in that style that you posted to make a pair for my Canadian Colonial Copper type set.

TNG - I have, as you say, a sizable refund coming for the damaged medals, giving me a good price on the items kept that are okay. The seller had no use for them nor did he want to pay return postage on the bad items let alone the entire lot. So I am okay, just disappointed, with the purchase. I do appreciate your concern.

999 I'm glad you are getting a decent refund. I had a moment where I thought that a rock tumbler or cartridge tumbler would polish them in a uniform manner, but you would lose the cameo effect and some detail.

Also might lose a good amount of value giving them a tumble.

Standfast ~ There are many similar varieties of your Blacksmith Token. They sort of look the same at first glance. They are not worn as bad as they look. They dies were deliberately made to look heavily worn to pass off as worn British coinage.
They were readily accepted in commerce even though people did know they were non regal coppers of the time.

Some are quite expensive. The one I show is probably the least expensive. Yours is worth more than mine.

The commonly seen bow and knot on many of these behind the head always reminded me of a figure with a head and folded arms and two legs sliding down the back of his head.

Every now and then, I look for listings with titles such as "unknown worn" or "unidentified worn" coins that could possibly turn up one of these Blacksmith Tokens.

That is very thoughtful of you thisistheshow but I have seen them before.
There is a method to my madness. I don't think it would exactly fit in my collection unless I took a left turn at Albuquerque. Thank you very much for thinking of me. Naw, better allow me to pick em.
I am so impressed with that post though.

Quite a few Pitt Clubs formed after the death of William Pitt (the Younger) in 1806. Some issued badges/medals
"under glass" with Pitt's image. Here's an example of the Warrington Pitt Club medal (BHM 840).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willi..._the_Younger