I have read the threads about this type of coin and searched tons of images, I can't find one that looks like this though. It was aquired by my great grandfather, along with some British coins dating from early 1800's to 1900, overseas during the First World War. It has been stamped from one side, you can see the circular marks around the edge and the hole has also been punched from this side. On the opposite side is the exact same stamp except it protrudes farther very slightly. The bottom of this side has something stamped covering parts of the words. Any info would be appreciated. These are the best pics I currently have, the coin is silver in color.
It's hard to tell when this was made. Washington has always remained the most popular president to put on medals for more than 200 years. Unless you can find some sort of documentation from a Washington medals collector, your guess will be as good as anyone's. Chris
I have a large collection of these. I am told that they were used on clothing in the 1930's but I have some doubts about this because there are so few that are alike. Most are cast in some sort of pot metal and they are often coppery or copper plated. A few appear to be copper or bronze.
I appreciate the help so far. I took another look at it after you mentioned pot metal. When held next to a rare earth magnet that's pretty strong it isn't pulled to the magnet but will show attraction if you touch the two together. The exterior has a patina in places but is definitely not rust or a steel patina (I collect old firearms so I'm familiar with aging ferrous metals). This makes me think it would most likely have to be plated, I'm guessing it would most likely be zinc since I seriously doubt it would be silver.
Suspect the 1930's time frame is correct. It was the bicentennial of Washington's birth in 1932. Also suspect that it was made to be worn as a pendant due to the hole. In colonial times they had a double headed medal of Washington, but this is not it. It could have been made with this medal in mind. These are just thoughts do not know for sure.
I thought for sure I would find this piece in my "Medallic Portraits of Washington", but I was wrong. I could not find a likely listing in the index, so I flipped thru each of the 300+ pages looking for a match. I found three that were very similar - on one side. By similar, I mean that had the features of Washington bust facing right, George Washington located below the bust, the two dates on the left & right sides, and "1st President U.S.A." around the top. Each of those three had only wording on the other side. Baker 705 was issued by The Numismatic Scrapbook magazine, by the founding editor, who held that position from Jan 1935 until April 1968. Baker 737 was issued by Stacks (Dealers in Coins) encouraging visits to the World's Fair when it was in New York (1939). Baker 747 was issued by G.M. (General Motors) during the 1960's. No manufacturer was noted for Baker 705, but the other two were noted as being made by the Osbourne Coinage Co. (formerly Osbourne Register Co., the maker of the Orco series of tokens). If you search for images of the above ids, you will see the great similarity to your piece. None of the above three have great value ($5 to $25 in Unc), and I would imagine that a more generic piece without advertising like yours would command a lesser value. Sorry I could not be of more assistance.
It would be nice if it were worth a lot of money but I'm very interested in the history as well. I greatly appreciate the help and information that you all have provided me. I will certainly look up the things cwtokinman.
