Description

“1794” (c. 1862) Arsenal Medal Without Sun By John Adams Bolan

• Date, mintmark: (c. 1862)
• Denomination: Medal
• Variety: JAB-4 Copper Arsenal Without Sun
• Region: The United States of America
• PCGS Grade: MS65BN
• PCGS Cert #: 43467473.
• Holder Type: PCGS Gold Shield
• Provenance: From Heritage’s Certified American Tokens & Medals Special Monthly Auction of April 2021, Lot 93507.
• Notes: “1794” (ca. 1862) Arsenal Medal Without Sun. By John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-4, Rulau Ma-Sp 14. Copper. MS-63 BN (NGC). 28 mm.
Undated (after 1862) U.S. BOLEN JAB 4 / J.A. Bolen Store Card muling. Musante JAB M/E-5. Copper. MS-65 BN (PCGS).
Undated (after 1862) U.S. Arsenal, Without Sun / J.A. Bolen Store Card muling. Musante JAB M/E-5. Copper. MS-64 BN (PCGS). 27.9 mm. 181.5 grains. Light red and brown surfaces with soft accents of olive and pale blue.  Pleasantly lustrous with just a faint trace of a fingerprint on the obverse. Few marks of any kind, though close inspection reveals traces of die-finishing lines and a fairly prominent double strike on the reverse. This obverse is observed in two die states, one early, with no artifacts inside the rims, and one late, with varying degrees of lumps and lines against the inner rims. These are most prominent near 6:00 and 2:00. Bolen’s original use of this obverse, JAB-4.   This muling is known with the obverse in both states, and it is believed to have been struck by both George B. Mason and Dr. Edwards, as both owned the dies for a time. Mason is reported (by Woodward) to have struck six in each composition, copper, brass, and tin, while Edwards is assumed to have made more. However, these medals are quite rare, and it is unlikely that very many more were produced by anyone. Since the mulings are in two states and Bolen is not believed to have struck them, we are assigning the early state mulings to Mason, who owned the dies first (after Bolen), and the late-state dies to Edwards who owned them later. This is a late-state impression and likely an Edwards restrike. Nonetheless, again, all are rare. Our archives only include three examples in copper, not including this one. Two are late-state, as here, and one is earlier. This muling was not included in the Q. David Bowers Collection offering of 2011 in any composition.
Board Position: A 2/6
Provenance: From the E Pluribus Unum Collection.