"1781" (post-1789) Lieutenant Colonel William Washington, Battle of

"1781" (post-1789) Lieutenant Colonel William Washington, Battle of the Cowpens Medal. Original Paris Mint Striking. Betts-594. Bronze. Unc Details--Cleaned (NGC). 46.0 mm. Plain edge. Sharply struck and crisp, this piece has considerable eye appeal relative to the assigned grade. The surfaces show some nice gloss, as well as plenty of handsome copper-rose color, although they are a tad bright with an intermingling of curious olive, gold and powder blue to further explain the NGC qualifier. The rims have been neatly filed, as made, to obscure the crumbling at the die edge. This is a relatively plentiful Comitia Americana medal in original format; the dies remained at the Paris Mint for decades, and demand swelled early for strikes from these dies from collectors on both sides of the Atlantic. Those restrikes made after 1842 are marked on the edge, and any made before then are generally deemed "originals," distinguished by age only by difficult to see aspects like the concavity of the edge. The edge of this piece is relatively square, designating it (along with the filed rims) as probably not made in 1789, but just how much later it may have been struck can only be speculated upon. Those made after 1842, in addition to CUIVRE and a privy mark on the edge, are generally highly reflective and have perfectly square edges. Provenance: From the Henry Mitchell Collection. Click here for certification details from NGC.

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