George Soley Philadelphia Mint Medal

This is a common medal, and I have run into a dozen or more of them over the years. One of my annoying habits is chasing rabbits when I am doing something else. I'm sure others have chased these rabbits before.

First, here is the medal:




And the detail of the Philadelphia Mint building:


The medal is small, 13.4 mm, 1.38 g, medal alignment, plain edge. It has a thin bronze plating over a soft base metal. It is holed, with a bronze loop. I've seen a couple that weren't holed, but most of them seem to have been holed and looped, possibly for use as jewelry.

The obverse reads "U.S. Mint Phila. 1832" and the reverse quotes a portion of the Lord's Prayer, from Matthew 6:9-13a (A.V.). The year is not the date the medal was struck, but refers to the year the Second Philadelphia Mint Building was completed.

Now the rabbit chasing. George Soley was a die sinker at the Philadelphia Mint. He also was a lithograph engraver, known for detailed prints of Mount Vernon and other historical locations. The First Philadelphia Mint was located at Seventh and Arch Streets. The Second Philadelphia Mint was west of that location, at the corner of Juniper and Chestnut Streets. When that mint building opened, City High School was nearby. In 1839, another mint employee, Joseph Saxton, took what is now known as the oldest photograph taken in the United States, depicting that high school. The dominant building at the intersection today is the historic Wannamaker's Department Store Building. The Second Philadelphia Mint closed in 1901, and was replaced by the Third Philadelphia Mint, which was located on the corner of Sixteenth and Spring Garden Streets. That building still exists, and is now part of the Community College of Philadelphia. The current Fourth Philadelphia Mint is on Independence Mall North, between Arch and Race Streets.

Soley purchased the first steam coining press from the Philadelphia Mint, when that press was scrapped. He used that press to strike these small medals. In a sense, this medal commemorates its own minting. That steam press was used to strike other medals over the years, and the ANA brought it to Philadelphia to strike medals at the 2000 ANA Convention.