Hi Folks, My husband found this forum and said it was a great place to discuss coins. However, I also have a bunch of medal that I am trying to research, so hopefully there are some medals fans over here as well. In a large box of medals that I acquired, I came across this "thing". I don't even know if technically it is a medal, but it is something. I am pretty sure that is Ben Franklin on the front, but I am not 100% sure as there is no identification on the item. It looks to be iron and most of the people I have shown it too think it is pretty old. It is unique of the item in this box because of its size. It is 5 1/2 inches in diameter, much larger than all the other items. Here is a photo of the front. The only marking I can find is this one on the shoulder. Here is a photo of the back, if that helps. I have no idea what those yellow numbers are. So, if anyone can tell me anything about this medal/thing I would appreciate it. I do have bigger photos if anyone is interested. Thanks for any help Kim
I am trying to research your item through a couple of contacts and will post if I find out anything. In regards to the numbers, my guess is an inventory number of auction lot number.
This is an interesting item. I have contacted two individuals that I thought might be able to shed some light on it, but we have not come up with an answer for you. We are left wondering though... 1. It appears like this medal has two different relief potraits - one on each side. But are they the same individual? It is hard to tell for certain. 2. We are not so certain this is Benjamin Franklin. 3. We all concur that the number on the piece is most likely an inventory number and was probably placed there by a museum or similar institution. Our educated guess is that an organization took in a quanitity of pieces from an individual and labeled the collection as 4004. This was then labeled as piece 8 from that collection. Which raises the question, did the other objects in the box have inventory numbers? To aid us in further researching this object, it would be helpful to provide us with high quality images of the edge of the object and a higher resolution of the hallmark or marking on the obverse. In any event, we all believe the piece to be old. The real question is who does it depict, who made it, and for what purpose. If the relief was only present on one side I would have proposed that it was a plaque that would have been mounted on wood, but with the relief on both edges there is more uncertainty.
Hi, My wife started this thread, so I guess I will contribute. The back side as shown in the photo is just the reverse indentation of the front. The item is definitely one-sided. I will try to get some high-res photos up later today. Galvano ... ok, I have no idea that that is. Thanks you very much for all the help. Best Regards, - Hal & Kim
Thanks for the correction. It appeared from the photos like the front and back were different and both in relief. Knowing they are not makes the search a little simpler. To answer your question about what is a Galvano... Before an original design can be transferred to a coin, medal, or token, it must first go through a variety of "steps." The first step in the process is to make a model of the design in plaster or another similar material. This model is the used to create a galvano from copper, bronze, or more currently, epoxy. The design on the galvano is then reproduced in "miniature" to produce a master hub. The master hub is then used to produce master dies. The master dies are then used to produce working hubs which are in turn used to produce working dies - which, you guessed it - produce coins, medals or tokens! That all being said, I do not believe it is a galvano.
No galvano, no galvano... why is Glen Campbell running throught my mind? Thanks for the great lesson. You have been very nice to me in several posts!! So, here are the photos. Each one is over a mb, so I have included links to them. Front Back Mark??? One thing I noticed is that on the reverse, at about 9 o'clock in the photo, the is a spot that at one time looked to have been a mark or writing of some sort. I can't make it out now, but it looks to maybe have been letters. I will try to take a closer look at that later. Best Regards, - Hal
Hi Folks... just a shameless bump to push this back up to the top. Does anyone have any info on this piece? If anyone has a source that can help me identify it, I would also be grateful. Best Regards, - Hal
Hal, I have not yet been able to identify the piece personally and through those that I contacted about it. That does not mean hope is lost though ;-)
