Lead Medal Samples Or Prototypes? - Schlank, Adelaide, Australia

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ClusterCoin Valued Member Australia 136 Posts	Posted 01/13/2025 7:38 pm I recently acquired a small collection of what look to be early to mid 20th century medal prototypes by Schlank in Adelaide, South Australia, and would like more information on these items if anyone has any. They were described as 'medal dies', but they're positives, not negatives, and stamped on soft irregular metal. I'm not sure what the metal is, but I assume it's lead as even samples several mm in thickness can easily be bent, but I guess it could also be pewter. I have no way of telling. I assume these are prototypes or samples given to customers or made during the die creation process, but maybe someone has more information on how medals were made in the early/mid 20th century. Only a few of the samples are marked 'Schlank' on the reverse, but since they all came from the same source and are all related to South Australia, it's my assumption they were made by the same company. I don't have any finished medals to compare the sizes to. Some information on the company and the man behind these medals: https://collections.museumsvictoria...rticles/2437 Thank you Some examples from the collection: West Adelaide Football Club - Best and Fairest medal. On the reverse it says 'Not transferable' and 'Schlank Adelaide' Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16806 Posts	Posted 01/13/2025 8:49 pm The technical term for these artefacts is a "lead pull". A lead pull is produced essentially as a pattern or trial piece, to test the dies before they are finished. When a die for a coin or medal is first made, it is carved into soft steel. At this stage, the metal is still quite soft and can be easily altered, edited or re-carved if the design isn't quite right, but a die in such a state cannot produce test strikes in the correct metal or at normal operating pressure as the die would bend and deform. So such tests need to be produced using a soft metal, such as lead, and using lower than usual pressure on the coining press. Hence, a "lead pull". Once the lead pull has been examined and everyone is happy with how the design looks, the die can be hardened and the medals can then be made. Note: if no such finished medals are known, then it is possible that the customer either rejected the design or cancelled the order. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
ClusterCoin Valued Member Australia 136 Posts	Posted 01/13/2025 9:08 pm Quote: The technical term for these artefacts is a "lead pull". Thank you for that Sap. That's the crucial bit of information I was missing. I was searching for 'test', 'prototype', 'sample' etc, and didn't know they are called pulls. It also doesn't help that search engines look at "lead" and often assume I'm referring to order/placement instead of metal. Quote: So such tests need to be produced using a soft metal, such as lead, and using lower than usual pressure on the coining press. Hence, a "lead pull". Although it's probably unknowable, I wonder how many of these tests were made. Looks like, at least at Schlank Co., it was standard practice to keep the tests instead of reusing the lead. I did find an example of the finished medal for the second lead pull. Murray Bridgettes. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/294253166070 Edited by ClusterCoin 01/13/2025 9:10 pm Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187702 Posts	Posted 01/14/2025 09:48 am Very interesting pieces! Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16806 Posts	Posted 01/14/2025 8:24 pm Quote: Although it's probably unknowable, I wonder how many of these tests were made. Looks like, at least at Schlank Co., it was standard practice to keep the tests instead of reusing the lead. There's usually no need to make more than one, unless the customer requests them for some reason. I have a friend in the coin club who had a hand in designing and issuing a medal; he had quite a few lead pulls made of that medal, to give to his friends in the club. As for whether they'd be kept or not, it depends on the manufacturer's in-house practices. Some might let the customer keep the lead pulls if they wanted to. Many would just get tossed into the scrap lead bucket, to be melted and re-used for later. Other manufacturers might keep them on file alongside the dies or other specifications, at least for a while, in case further orders were forthcoming. I suspect it might depend on how many customers they'd get and how much storage space they had available. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
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