Went to a local coin show today and stayed for several hours. Towards the end of the show I went to a dealer who primarily deals in exonumia who had this medal in their case. This medal is a ca. 1892-1904 US Mint restrike, using dies prepared by Charles Barber. Only 167 pieces were struck from this die in bronze in that time period. It measures at 67.9mm and weighs 156g - quite possibly my heftiest numismatic item to date. Got an incredible buy on this gorgeous piece at $25. The relief seriously pops on this one - it’s a spectacular piece. Previously I had went to a world coin dealer and saw this coin in a box of 2x2s containing mainly British and German coins. The flip this beautiful Victoria halfpenny was in had a crossed out “150” on it, with no price replacing the old price. I showed this piece to one of the dealers at the table and asked what they wanted for it, to which they responded $20. The other dealer was not happy about letting the coin go for $20, but an offer had already been given, which I couldn’t refuse. This piece had been sitting in the inventory a long time, and the dealer wanted to move it. Now here’s two I got for FREE: This one I was confused about at first. It was in a $0.25 each bin, which the dealer just let me have since I only bought a few coins and they were packing up to leave anyway. I first saw the wreath and guessed early Large Cent, then realized it was a Draped Bust with near 180° die rotation. From this we can, miraculously, figure out the variety - 1807 S-276, R-1. Can’t complain about an identifiable DBLC for free. Another one from that bin. Didn’t even realize this is a tough issue until I took it home and looked it up - since it was dated 1909 and had luster, to pick this from the bin was a no-brainer.
I'm amazed at how you saw it so quickly. Took me awhile (despite your hint about the wreath) before I saw the faint outline of two leaves.
Yet another demonstration that what's in your head can gain you more buying power than what's in your wallet. Great picks!
