Henry Clay is one of my favorite historical figures. He was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Clay served as the 7th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the ninth U.S. secretary of state. He received electoral votes in the 1824, 1832, and 1844 presidential elections and helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party. For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned the appellation of the "Great Compromiser." He has a fascinating history that is well worth digging in to. He was a major part of the political landscape of the early to mid 1800s. Interestingly he was the first person to lie in state at the Capitol rotunda after he passed in June of 1852. One small part of my collection is medal and tokens that relate to Henry Clay. 1844 Henry Clay Campaign Medal, Dewitt HC-1844-6, MS62 NGC. White metal, 40 mm. Unlike most surviving examples, this one is holed for suspension at 12 o'clock. The high relief medal by Leonard features Henry Clay facing left with the date, 1844, below. The reverse depicts industry and shipping. The brilliant light gray surfaces are reflective and lightly toned. From The Rev. Dr. James G. K. McClure Collection. Undated Henry Clay Life Medal -- Improperly Cleaned -- NGC Details. Unc. White metal. Henry Clay was born in 1777 and died in 1852, and his death marked the beginning of the end for the Whig Party in 19th century America. This white metal piece exhibits minor cleaning lines and other trivial marks on each side, retaining brilliant and reflective light gray surfaces. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society. (1840) Henry Clay, Brass, Low-192, HT-79, DeWitt MVB-1840-1, R.2, VF30 NGC. This Choice VF token has trivial handling marks on its light tan surfaces with mahogany peripheries. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society. 1850 HENRY CLAY COMPROMISE COPPER BRONZED MEDAL BY CC WRIGHT Diameter: 89.3mm Please post anything related. Either Clay material or those of his contemporaries.
Very interesting. Have you considered preparing an Exhibit for your State, Regional, or National Coin shows? If not I think you should. You have done the research and you have the numismatic material to assemble a prize winning Exhibit. Well done!
Actually, I did my first exhibit at last year's Chicago ANA show but it wasn't on this material. It was enjoyable and somewhat stressful to be judged by peers. For now, I am going to concentrate on improving my other exhibit. Once I get it to the point it needs to be I may try doing one on the Henry Clay medals.
@Chris B Peer review should be validation of your effort, and while I'm sure you want to do well, the aim from where I sit is your 'interest in doing'. I hope that the pressure you feel dissipates and allows you to continue to generate enthusiasm in others. I'm a history buff myself, and know more about Clay having read your short narrative. But I'll be looking into this more as a result. There is so much to explore in our US History.
I agree. I was mostly stressed because it was my first time doing a competitive display. The whole process was new to me. I was happy with the results and got good feedback to build off of. The history buff in me drives most of my current purchases. I have never had much interest in chasing 70's or set building just to have a "complete" set. Clay is fascinating to me. I don't think much happened on the national political stage in the first half of the 1800s that he wasn't involved with in some way.
I'll put this one out there also. It is a modern (1973) piece but I like the imagery. I must be the only one that collects this stuff on here. I appreciate all of the comments but I thought there would be more participation with other historical medals.
Here is the last Henry Clay medal I have. Category: U.S. Mint Medals - Julian Mint: Philadelphia Composition: Bronze Diameter: 76mm Edge: Plain 1852 Henry Clay Personal Medal NGC MS64 BN This medal is NGC MS64 Brown, with no distracting marks, nice chestnut brown surfaces. Engraved by Charles Cushing Wright and struck at the U.S. Mint. The attribution is Julian-PE-8, Bronze. The "Compromise" medal shown earlier is Julian-PE-7 so I have both mint medals for Henry Clay.
The Owner/Operator at my LCS is a big medals guy. I'll ask about Clay to see if he has anything in inventory. He's shown me medals in the past and he prefers collecting these over coins. He is also one of the notable antiques guys in the area. A wealth of knowledge!!
Denise, you can not post B/S/T except in the classified forums ( no general forum)after 10 regular posts. Jim
It has been a while since I was able to add a piece to this collection, but I recently pulled the trigger on this one. Interestingly it is a mule with a reported mintage of 12 pieces. It requires a little more research on my part. It is in a PCGS holder grades MS64 (1844) Medal Henry Clay W.H. Harrison Campaign MS64 Brown PCGS. Mule, Obverses of DeWitt-WHH-1840-7 and DeWitt-HC-1844-10 Copper-nickel Diameter: 40 mm. Reported mintage of 12 pieces
That's a great looking medal! 'Leonard' is Allen Leonard who was born c1801 in Philadelphia and died in 1871. He was a notable silversmith and in 1845 was considered for the position of Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Attached is an excerpt from the April 20, 1844 issue of Public Ledger (Philadelphia) which advertised Leonard's Clay medal.