| Description: |
929.1 grains. 45.5 mm. An especially early restriking of the first American medal struck.
Pleasing tan mingles with orange-red color, closely resembling mint color but under
studious scrutiny appears to be the remnants of a centuries-old cleaning. Some minor
hairlines are noted, the rim at 3:00 on obverse has received a sideways gash that is not
particularly notable from either obverse or reverse. The details are well defined on the
substantial planchet. The die cracks that later cause the death of the reverse die around
1874 are only tiny rivulets here, visible from AT of CORPORATION through the shaking hands
to the rim at GIFT, with another following an arc from the wheat sheaf to the topmost
berry on the left of the spring below. The obverse appears perfect. Our dating of this
piece to 1820-1830 is speculative but probably not far off. The Mint acquired these dies
around 1800; by 1874, they were shattered and sunken into oblivion in a far later state
than seen here. This piece falls much closer to LaRiviere: 2076 than the lot that followed
it (and happens to be offered in the next lot!). A fascinating piece, coined from the
first medal dies ever engraved in America.The Kittanning that was destroyed by Colonel
John Armstrong was an Indian village where presumed raiders against frontier British
communities were said to live; today, Kittanning is a bedroom community outside
Pittsburgh.
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