Through my research, I have found many US Mint medals were restruck from original dies in the 1970's. How can you best tell the difference between the two original and restrike?
Depends on when the original were made. If they were using 19th century dies it's easy. The early bronze medals have a mahogany brown color which is absolutely beautiful. The modern medals are struck in a yellow bronze which really doesn't look anywhere near as good.
Thank You I began to wonder when I found a seller who sold things for less than what the books said they were worth. I have a 1972 US Mint catalog, which shows that many medals were restruck in 1972. That mystery was solved. If the medal looks new and is light in color, the medal was probably struck in 1972. (correct me if I am wrong) Too bad the US Mint made identifying original medals that much harder. Copies and forgeries are easier to spot than medals made from the same dies.
