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The E-Sylum: Volume 10, Number 37, September 16, 2007, Article 7 COMMODORE PERRY'S GOLD MEDAL SOLD IN MAINE ESTATE SALE A unique and very important medal was sold recently in a Rockland, Maine estate sale, as reported by Sam Pennington of The Maine Antique Digest: "The gold medal presented to Commodore Matthew C. Perry by merchants of Boston “…in token of their appreciation of his services in negotiating the treaty with Japan signed at Yoku-Hama, March 31, and with Lew Chew at Napa, July 11, 1854…” sold with its raggedy original case for $165,000 (including buyer's premium) to one of ten phone bidders at Bruce Gamage's auction in Rockland, Maine, on Monday, August 27. "The medal was struck in 1856 at the U.S. Mint on request and paid for by the Boston merchants. There was this one gold medal struck along with 20 silver medals and 104 bronze medals. "The price far exceeded the most ambitious presale estimate of $30,000/40,000 posited by serious buyers. According to auctioneer Gamage, the buyer was a collector from New York City who wishes to remain anonymous. The underbidder on the floor was New York City coin and medals dealer Anthony Terranova. "Not that it mattered in the end, but Gamage said he had weighed the medal on a gram scale and gave that weight and the size to one of the phone bidders who determined that it “contained at least five thousand dollars worth of gold.” Gamage also took the medal to a local jeweler, but did not do any potentially destructive testing using acid." To read the complete article, see: Full Story Antiques and the Arts interviewed the auctioneer about the piece: "A gold medal presented to Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1854 for his efforts in Japan was a glittering draw for collectors at Bruce Gamage Jr's annual Maine summer auction on August 27. Marking what the auctioneer characterized as a 'career high' sale, the medal sold for $165,000 to an anonymous New York City buyer on the phone. "The medal came from a local summer family, according to Gamage. "'I knew it was gold and I knew it was good, but I decided to estimate it on the value of the gold rather than historical considerations,' said Gamage of the lot's $4/6,000 initial presale estimate. After the week went by, however, 'I was getting all of these calls [about the medal], and that's when I began thinking it might bring $30/40,000.' "The annual estate auction was, as Gamage said by telephone afterwards, 'A fun sale,' grossing close to a half million dollars, which is about as good as it has been in Gamage's 39-year career." To read the complete article and view images of the medal, see: Full Story [Ads published in Sam Pennington's Maine Antique Digest and website alerted collectors to the offering. Sam is working on a longer piece for the MCA Advisory. Were any of our readers among those bidding on the piece? -Editor] To view the Maine Antique Digest web ad for the sale, see: Full Story Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum | |
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