COVERAGE OF THE DANIEL MORGAN GOLD MEDAL

When numismatist John Kraljevich of Fort Mill opened a box containing a unique solid gold medal that an auction house asked him to authenticate, his jaw dropped.

"My reaction was somewhere along the lines of, holy (expletive)," Kraljevich said. "As soon as I laid my eyes on it, I knew what it was."

Indeed, it was the original and only gold Daniel Morgan at Cowpens Medal struck by the Philadelphia Mint in 1839.

Untraced since 1885, an anonymous owner consigned the medal to be auctioned off at Stack's Bowers Galleries April 4-8 in Costa Mesa, Calif.

The pre-auction sales estimate is $250,000 to $500,000.

Kraljevich, a dealer who specializes in rare, early medals, has been authenticating coins and medals for two decades.

"It's appearance represents the most shocking and important discovery in American numismatics in years," he said.

 
Kraljevich and Gen. Morgan

He was familiar with the mystery behind the medal that was minted for Revolutionary War General Daniel Morgan, and knew that over time, many replicas and copies of medals have been minted. A similar medal awarded in 1818 to Gen. William Henry Harrison for leading a decisive U.S. victory in the War of 1812 brought $600,000 at an auction last year, he said.

"This piece (the Morgan medal) is in much better condition," Kraljevich said. "This medal is famous because of the exquisite artistry, its rarity, condition and a great story. If it brought a similar amount ($600,000) I would be very pleased."

In the mid-1970s, for example, newspapers reported that a metal detector from Greer found what he believed was the Morgan medal 15 inches underground. The finder said he sent the medal to the Smithsonian Institute for identification, according to reports.

But Kraljevich said he couldn't find any subsequent records to validate the story.

"In our business, we see local newspapers publish very credulous articles from metal detectors who claim to have found something wonderful," he said. "Typically (the reports) are a red herring and typically never seen again.

"There are a lot of reasons for replicas (of the Morgan medal) to be found here, but not the original. There is no shred of evidence that the original was ever in the state of South Carolina."

 

A similar medal awarded in 1818 to Gen. William Henry Harrison for leading a decisive U.S. victory in the War of 1812 brought $600,000 at an auction last year, he said.

"This piece (the Morgan medal) is in much better condition," Kraljevich said. "This medal is famous because of the exquisite artistry, its rarity, condition and a great story. If it brought a similar amount ($600,000) I would be very pleased."

As a consultant, Kraljevich also provided the history of the medal to Stack's Bowers Galleries for publication of its Spring 2022 Auction catalog.

To read the complete article, see:
'Shocking discovery:' Daniel Morgan at Cowpens Medal could fetch $500k at April auction (https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/local/2022/03/16/revolutionary-war-general-daniel-morgan-cowpens-medal-auctioned/9437740002/)

To read the complete article (in Russian), see:
Найдена исчезнувшая 140 лет назад уникальная медаль за 53 миллиона рублей (https://lenta.ru/news/2022/03/17/medal/)

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