The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 41, October 8, 2006, Article 10

ZACHARY TAYLOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL DISPLAYED

An October 3rd Associated Press article discusses a very special
Congressional Gold Medal which recently came on the market and will
be auctioned next month by American Numismatic Rarities.  The medal
will be on display this week at the Whitman Coin Expo in Atlanta.
Authorized in 1848, the 20-ounce medal contains over a pound of
gold from the first shipment of California Gold Rush nuggets to
reach the U.S. Mint.

"When Zachary Taylor became president in 1849, he was a genuine
war hero, thanks to his exploits during the Mexican War.

The country said "thanks" three times, with Congressional Gold Medals.

The last, made from some of the first gold sent east from the
California gold fields, was presented after Taylor became president,
but it disappeared when Taylor died a year later. Over the years,
experts doubted it would ever be seen again, and some even speculated
it had been melted down."

"This is an important discovery because researchers assumed it was
lost or even melted during one of the financial panics that gripped
the United States since the mid-19th century," said Q. David Bowers,
of New Hampshire-based American Numismatic Rarities/Stack's.

"We'll need to update the reference books," he said.

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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