Commemorative Confederate Medal & Case
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GUEST:
I brought in a Civil War piece that my husband got when he inherited a trunk from his great-aunt. I believe it's a medallion of some sort, or I think it's called a tintype, I'm not sure. I've done a little research on it, but not a lot.
APPRAISER:
What do you think the case is made of?
GUEST:
I have no idea.
APPRAISER:
It's a thermoplastic case, and on the front, we have the image of the Washington Monument in Richmond, Virginia.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
And when we open it up, we have the great seal of the Confederacy. It has George Washington again, who was a Southerner from Virginia, and around the edge, it says, "Confederate States of America."
When do you think this was made?
GUEST:
Well, I know there's a date on it that says 1862, so I'm assuming Civil War era. I don't know exactly when.
APPRAISER:
Well, the original of this was made in 1864, made by Joseph Wyon, who was in England. He was contracted to make this. The original of this, and there's only one made of silver.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
It's in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
In April of 1865, the Union Army came into Richmond.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
That original one only survived because a clerk in the CS state department's wife thought enough to put it away and get it out of the city.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
That's the only reason it survives.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
In 1872, there was a New Yorker named Samuel Black. He made about 1,000 of these from best we can tell.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
And he did them in bronze, he did them in silver, and he did them in gold. This is the silver one. It's an electrotype. It's silver applied to a heavy bronze base.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And they were sold by a man named John Pickett, no relation to the general, but they were sold to raise money for the Confederate widows and orphans during the 1870s and '80s.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And this is a very nice one. We do have condition issues. We have some chips, bumps and bruises, but hey, if we make it that long, we're going to have some problems. But the case is still present because it's the silver, which is better than the bronze one. Not as good as the gold, but it's still better. It's probably worth, on the retail market, about $2,500.
GUEST:
Really? Wow. That's more than I thought.
APPRAISER:
Without the case, the medallion itself would be worth less than $1,000.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
So the case and the presentation of it...
GUEST:
Really.
APPRAISER:
...makes a lot of difference.
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