| Description: |
89.5 mm. 621 grams. 6.7 mm thick at the rim. Rich, even yellow gold with deeply reflective
fields and incredible relief in the devices. As the chief raison d'etre these dies were
made, this gold presentation medal necessarily captures each and every detail engraved
into the dies—veins in Taylor's head, thousands of tiny troops stretching into the
horizon on the reverse, the stars and stripes on battle flags at the central reverse,
individual scales on the snakes that frame the battle scene, and more. Though the highest
points of the obverse relief are above the level of the high rims, they appear unworn.
Some hairlines are seen, chiefly on the obverse. Various signs of handling may be noted,
common with a soft gold medal, especially one held in non-numismatic hands for over a
century. The edges are somewhat scuffed from the process of being removed from and placed
into the close-fitting custom made silver case. A tiny rim nick on the reverse near 1:00
and a few near and above 9:00 are noted, though none are seen from the obverse. A few
little scrapes are seen in the fields, nick noted under Taylor's sideburn, small gathering
of marks near his chin in the field. The visual appeal remains superb, as this piece was
never badly mishandled or cut-tested despite the fact that it has not been handled with
cotton gloves since the moment it was struck on July 4, 1849. The clamshell case is
silver, 96.6 mm in diameter. Nicely engraved with a leafy wreath at the periphery on the
top lid, bold capital letters Z.T. with diagonal hatching and a shadow around, square
stops after each. Salmon-colored linen lines the interior top of the case, ripped once but
in remarkable condition otherwise. The hinge is a little broken but functional, though the
rim of the top does not any longer fit perfectly inside the lip of the base. It is toned
and shows some signs of handling, not to mention hairlines from consistent (and proper)
polishing. Unmarked but clearly the work of a very competent silversmith. This medal is
the only specimen known in gold, the actual piece struck on July 4, 1849 in Philadelphia
and awarded to then-President Zachary Taylor. At 90 mm in diameter and weighing 20 ounces,
it is the largest Congressional gold medal in private hands. The 1848 Winfield Scott medal
was the same size, and only the 1863 medal U.S. Grant was given by Congress for the
victory at Vicksburg is larger. Today, both are in the Smithsonian Institution. While any
large gold medal from the 19th century is impressive and valuable, no American medal of
the period in private hands can compare to this Zachary Taylor medal, engraved by
America's foremost medallic artist and struck from the first ever shipment of California
Gold Rush gold ever received at the U.S. Mint. [Before the Gold Rush, small gold shipments
from California arrived as early as 1838, though their significance was missed at the
time.] Taylor was the victorious general of the Mexican War battle of Buena Vista, fought
in Mexico in February 1847. His victory paved the way to the American taking of Mexico
City and overall success in the Mexican War, a conflict which resulted in the American
annexation of all of California and Arizona, in addition to other areas of the Southwest
by the February 1848 Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo. Three months later, the United States
Congress voted that two large gold medals be given to the victorious generals, namely
Major General Zachary Taylor and Major General Winfield Scott. For Taylor, it would be the
third time he would be honored with a Congressional gold medal - more than any other
American before or since. The Buena Vista Taylor medal was awarded for Taylor's defeat of
"a Mexican army of more than four times their number, consisting of chosen troops,
under their favorite commander, General Santa Anna," according to the original joint
resolution. Taylor's second Congressional gold medal also survives, a smaller piece with a
simple design given for the victory at Monterey in 1847. Winfield Scott's 1848
Congressional gold medal, authorized the same day as Taylor's but struck about a month
later in August 1849, also survives; today it is a highlight of the National Numismatic
Collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Between the 1847 victory and the 1848
resolution to recognize that victory with a gold medal, the world was gripped by news from
a territory claimed by both warring parties: the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on the
American River in California on January 24, 1848. A gold rush soon followed, and thousands
of American settlers poured into the territory. By numismatic tradition, the first gold
pieces ever coined from metal discovered in California were the 1848 CAL. $2.50 quarter
eagles. Exactly 1,389 pieces were coined from metal transmitted from the military governor
of California to the United States Mint as part of a 228 ounce deposit. That deposit,
however, arrived at the Mint on December 9, 1848. Only one day earlier, the very first
deposit of California Gold Rush gold arrived at the Mint in Philadelphia, a substantial
hoard of 1,804 ounces of gold that one David Carter had personally brought from the
American River near Sutter's Mill. Original documents suggest that the newly discovered
Taylor medal, as well as the Winfield Scott medal now at the Smithsonian, was actually
produced from the Carter deposit. Since the products of the Carter deposit were not
identified with a mark (like the CAL stamp on the 1848 CAL quarter eagles), this medal is
the only product of that first ever deposit from the California Gold Rush that remains
identifiable and in private hands! A single line in a letter from Mint Director Robert
Maskell Patterson makes this point crystal-clear, as Patterson describes the CAL quarter
eagles but notes "the California gold reserved for the medals is from another
deposit." This letter, dated January 5, 1849, is cited on page 117 of Dave Bowers'
California Gold Rush History. In March 1849, Major General Zachary Taylor was inaugurated
President of the United States. The dies for his Buena Vista medal were completed by
Charles Cushing Wright in June 1849 and his unique gold medal was struck in July. In these
"Days of '49," the California gold strikes dominated the news and inspired the
nation. The striking of the gold medal for the President on July 4 of that year was a
celebration not only of his military feats, but of the great fortune the nation would
derive from one of the captured territories. His medal was larger than any Congressional
gold medal ever struck, bigger even that the one given to George Washington by Congress;
its new large-module size was undoubtedly a recognition of the new wealth of gold the
nation owned via the annexation of California. The only larger solid gold medal (105 mm)
ever struck by the U.S. was given to General Ulysses S. Grant by Congress; today, that
medal is in the Smithsonian. President Zachary Taylor died in July 1850 of
gastroenteritis, struck down just days after breaking ground for the Washington Monument
on July 4 and just a year this magnificent Congressional recognition. His medal passed to
his heirs and remained there until recent times. In this auction, this historic artifact
of a military hero, an American president, and the greatest gold rush the world has ever
known will be sold to the highest bidder. There will never be a duplicate, an upgrade, or
a substitute product. Its importance goes beyond that of a unique gold medal. As just a
numismatic object, as one of the biggest gold medals ever struck by the U.S. Mint and the
largest such medal in private hands, its value would be great. Beyond that, however, this
medal stands as the manifestation of the thanks of the nation given to the man whose
efforts, more than any other, resulted in the inclusion of California in the Union and the
guarantee that its wealth would benefit the United States. The golden riches of California
spurred the expansion of the United States across the continent to the Pacific, realizing
the dream Thomas Jefferson noted some 50 years earlier. Jefferson thought such expansion
would take 100 generations; thanks to the California Gold Rush, it took two. How
appropriate it is that the grand prize given to the man most responsible for this would be
a massive piece of gold, coined at the genesis of the California Gold Rush from the very
first deposit of those infinite auriferous riches to ever reach the Federal mint in
Philadelphia. At the moment the dies hit that weighty golden planchet, a national treasure
was created. Providentially, the treasure has survived to the present day. To call this
medal a "museum piece" would be an underestimation. It is, with no exaggeration,
one of the most important American medals in existence and quite possibly the most
significant to ever be offered at public auction.
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