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COLOMBIA (struck in Europe), large tin medal, no date (1827), Simón Bolívar.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Exonumia - Medals Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,000.00 USD
COLOMBIA (struck in Europe), large tin medal, no date (1827), Simón Bolívar.
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This item SOLD at 2024 Nov 09 @ 22:40UTC-5 : EST/CDT
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COLOMBIA (struck in Europe), large tin medal, no date (1827), Simón Bolívar. Fonrobert-unl. 23.07 grams. 41 mm. Obverse with high-relief military bust of Bolívar within legend COLOMBIA A SU LIBERTADOR; reverse with SIMON BOLIVAR / ILUSTRE GENERAL / SABIO LEGISLADOR / CIUDADANO INTEGRO / LIBERTADOR / Y / PADRE DE SU PATRIA with boughs at top and bottom. AU details with hole at top, lustrous silvered fields, the high points gray.

In addition to a unique confirmed example in silver and three in copper, two or three additional off-metal strikes in tin, lead, or white metal are now known. These off-metal varieties were first documented in the 1899 Weyl sale of American coins, where lots 2446 and 2447 (after a copper example) were described respectively as “rare variant in silver” and “lead color,” both of which were holed. These examples later became part of the Salbach collection and are featured as rubbings in his personal catalog. The present example is not the Weyl-Salbach piece, as evidenced by the differing position of the hole. We have previously sold one in copper, and another tin example was sold in Colombia from the Alberto Lozano Collection.

The first recorded mention of this issue appears in the August 27, 1859, edition of El Mosaico newspaper, which includes a drawing of the medal and notes that it came from Dr. José Manuel Restrepo, "quien la obtuvo de manos del mismo Libertador" ("who obtained it from the hands of the Liberator himself").

It is important to note that, based on the style and craftsmanship, these medals were most likely manufactured in Europe.