I picked these two up this week at my LCS from their unsorted world coins. I had no idea what they were but they looked neat and that's the sort of thing I'm looking for when I do this, so I purchased them for a negligible price (most likely a few bucks). I was trying to figure out what they are. I found a blog that seems to be a match, saying they are George H. Lovett presidential residence medals made in the early 1860s. https://ghlovett3.blogspot.com/p/historical-presidential.html What I don't know is if mine are original or if these were remade at some point. They have an almost prooflike shine to them, and it seems like the real thing might be worth pretty good money. I can't tell if the photos match the ones in the link above because the lighting is different, and there's no much readily available on Google. Does anyone know anything about these? Maybe I believe @johnmilton collects presidential tokens?
Nice! They certainly look 1860s, but a lot of medals did get restruck (I know nothing about these particular ones). I'm not sure how one would tell the difference. They're handsome, though, and if the price was right, a worthy purchase, I think.
I really don't know very much about these pieces. I can't lay my hands on the one book I have which mentions them. My specialty is 19th century presidential campaign medals and medelets. Here is the one piece I have, which I believe is part of the series. The reverse kind of says all I know. The series was sponsored by Augustus Sage. The medalets show the president's home. The dies were cut by George Lovett. I have this piece because a group of ladies were selling them to raise money to save Mt. Vernon which had fallen into disrepair. That's what drew my interest to it. Here are a couple of campaign for the two presidents who were covered in the OP. All Poke campaign medals are scarce to rare. In the 19th century, the quality of a collection was judged by the Polk and Lewis Cass medalets a collector had. This one is rather rare. It supports the admission of Texas as a state. That was a problem in 1844 because it almost guranteed a war with Mexico. Zachary Talor campaign pieces are more common. This one is a brass shell piece. It is made from two thin pieces which held together with a bezel. There was less wear and tear on the dies to make the pieces this way. The Taylor campaign mostly emphasized his war record and stayed away from the issues. The reverse lists his major battles during the Mexican War.
A complete set of them sold in 2006 for $6462.50. The listing says they are 35mm and made of white metal. https://coins.ha.com/itm/u.s.-presi...dence-series-total-16-medals-/a/1235-98055.s# Perhaps the images will help you decide if yours are original? I can't detect any difference visually between the images and yours. This single Andrew Jackson sold in August for $169 https://coins.ha.com/itm/u.s.-presi...475-52058.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515# but this Wm H Harrison sold Aug 2024 for $1800! https://coins.ha.com/itm/u.s.-presi...395-53110.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515#
Thanks. Mine are bronze but the link I posted above says they were made in both bronze and white metal.
Thanks, I think this looks a lot like mine. Seems like I did pretty good on this buy. Whenever I see something I like that is unusual and I buy it, it always seems to pay off.
