"The 1815 12 1/2 cent note from the Indian Queen Tavern in Baltimore is signed by the owner, John Gadsby, who also owned Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria."

"I've been diving into die states of War of 1812 Congressional medals - originals and restrikes. Here's an example: the medal for Alexander Macomb for the Battle of Plattsburgh (NY) in white metal struck in the late 1820s for the War Department (a few years after his gold medal), and a bronzed copper restrike probably dating to the late 19th century.

"The early die state of the white metal example shows that the finish of the original medals was what we now call a cameo proof, with frosted relief and mirror-like fields. This finish is also seen on surviving gold medals and well-preserved silver medals awarded by the Navy. Note the struck-through stray fiber debris below and left of FURST (Moritz Furst, the engraver).

"The later die state shows rust pits on the uniform jacket and extensive lapping to remove rust from the field - the high part of the die. The lapping nearly removed FURST.F., effaced parts of the uniform lapel, and made a gap between the point of the bust and the rim. There's also a new divot in the die below the bust forming a surprisingly regular circular raised dot.

"This and other dies of the series were paid for by the War or Navy Department but remained at the Mint and through the 19th century many rusted or were damaged by mishandling there. For perspective, the dies were hand-engraved and cost in the neighborhood of $500 each when most were made between about 1815 and 1825, and a Bureau of Labor Statistics inflater equates that to about $11,000 in 2020. But $500 was a livable annual income in 1820 so the real cost was arguably much more in today's dollars."

"Those notes and the medals are very cool. I haven't been able to win anything new - a well known whale has been active and driven prices past my interest level."