1912 Bronze Galvano, Edward Warren Sawyer, CHIEF SOTA, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Geary, South Dakota, Medallic Art Company. Uncertified. 70 mm. Includes original box. The box has a few corner splits and internal separation of the holder ring.

This month's medals and tokens Showcase auction presents one of the most important offerings in that genre of numismatics that we have recently handled. But it is not a single piece; rather, it is a group of pieces. I am, of course, talking about the Edward Warren Sawyer bronze galvanos, of which many are represented in this auction. The story of Sawyer and his travels, during which he made the original artworks later used for the galvanos, is more engrained in U.S. numismatics than one might assume. Some more advanced numismatists who are familiar with the sculptor Hermon MacNeil (the famous designer of the Standing Liberty quarter-my personal favorite series), may remember that MacNeil was especially fond of depicting Native Americans in his works with a focus on their culture and mythology. Sawyer, the artist behind the Native American portraits represented on these galvanos, was a student of MacNeil's. Each of the Sawyer Galvano lots in this auction has a link to a document that discusses Sawyer and his works, which provides context for the galvanos themselves. These pieces are quite scarce and important relics of not only numismatic association but Native American history and art, and it is quite remarkable that we have such a large offering of them coming to auction.

From The Golden State Collection.

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1912 Bronze Galvano, Edward Warren Sawyer, CHIEF SOTA, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Geary, South Dakota, Medallic Art Company. Uncertified.(https://coins.ha.com/itm/20th-century-tokens-and-medals/1912-bronze-galvano-edward-warren-sawyer-chief-sota-oglala-sioux-tribe-geary-south-dakota-medallic-art-company-uncerti/a/60407-52520.s)

1909-Dated Abraham Lincoln Plaque - Preserve, Protect, Defend, MS64 NGC. King-304, Smedley-84, Cunningham-24-300Bz. Gilt bronze, 63 mm. Between 1907 and 1909, Victor David Brenner was responsible for a series of Abraham Lincoln plaques. President Theodore Roosevelt was impressed by an example, and commissioned Brenner to design the Lincoln cent still in circulation today. The Preserve Protect Defend design features the head-and-shoulders Lincoln bust familiar from the cent. 100 bronze medals were struck on December 8, 1908, from a modified reverse design with a lower relief eagle. The issue is surprisingly rare, with few auction appearances.

This is an interesting piece not often seen at auction in any condition. Most collectors of U.S. coins will immediately recognize the Lincoln portrait as being similar to that Victor D. Brenner used for the Lincoln cent design. In fact, it was a series of Lincoln plaques like this produced by Brenner that earned him an invitation to design the cent. This piece is one of 100 bronze medals of produced in 1908, and it is gilt. It would do well both in an advanced Lincoln cent collector's cabinet as well as in a dedicated collection of Brenner's works.

From The L. William Libbert Collection.

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1909-Dated Abraham Lincoln Plaque - Preserve, Protect, Defend, MS64 NGC. King-304, Smedley-84, Cunningham-24-300Bz.(https://coins.ha.com/itm/lincoln/1909-dated-abraham-lincoln-plaque-preserve-protect-defend-ms64-ngc-king-304-smedley-84-cunningham-24-300bz/a/60407-52021.s)

(1781) Libertas Americana Medal, Copper -- Mount Removed -- NGC Details. Unc. Betts-615, Loubat-14. 78 mm. Benjamin Franklin, while serving as an American diplomat to France, is credited with the idea behind the Libertas Americana medal. France as Minerva defends the infant United States from the English lion, as the infant strangles two snakes representing military victories at Saratoga and Yorktown. Augustin Dupré was the engraver, and the Paris Mint struck the medal. The Liberty bust with a Liberty Cap and Pole was later featured on U.S. half cents and large cents. The die break on the obverse rim near 7 o'clock is characteristic of original strikings, of which 100 to 125 bronze examples survive. The present medal has a few delicate pinscratches on the field above the lion, and a blob of solder is noted above the infant.

From The L. William Libbert Collection.

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(1781) Libertas Americana Medal, Copper -- Mount Removed -- NGC Details. Unc. Betts-615, Loubat-14.(https://coins.ha.com/itm/betts-medals/-1781-libertas-americana-medal-copper-mount-removed-ngc-details-unc-betts-615-loubat-14/a/60407-52005.s#)

(Circa. 1830) Georgius "Wasington", Series Numismatica, MONACHII on Edge, Bronze, Baker-131A, GW-100, MS63 Brown NGC. 41 mm.

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(Circa. 1830) Georgius "Wasington", Series Numismatica, MONACHII on Edge, Bronze, Baker-131A, GW-100, MS63 Brown NGC.(https://coins.ha.com/itm/washingtonia/-circa-1830-georgius-wasington-series-numismatica-monachii-on-edge-bronze-baker-131a-gw-100-ms63-brown-ngc-41-mm/a/60407-52008.s#)

1905-Dated Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Medal, MS62 NGC. Fuld-RO.1905.2, Dusterberg-OIM-3B44, Levine-TR-3, MacNeil-TR-1905-3, Baxter-207. Bronze, 44 mm. Designated as "official inauguration medal" on the NGC insert, an honor that belongs to the Saint-Gaudens-designed Dusterberg-OIM-2B74.

From The L. William Libbert Collection.

To read the complete item description, see:
1905-Dated Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Medal, MS62 NGC. Fuld-RO.1905.2, Dusterberg-OIM-3B44, Levine-TR-3, MacNeil-TR-1905-3, Baxter-207.(https://coins.ha.com/itm/u.s.-presidents-and-statesmen/1905-dated-theodore-roosevelt-presidential-medal-ms62-ngc-fuld-ro19052-dusterberg-oim-3b44-levine-tr-3-macneil-tr-1905-3-/a/60407-52028.s#)

1838 Token Am I Not A Woman & A Sister, Copper, Low-54, DeWitt-CE-1838-19, HT-81, W-11-720a, R.1 -- Environmental Damage -- NGC Details. XF.

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1838 Token Am I Not A Woman & A Sister, Copper, Low-54, DeWitt-CE-1838-19, HT-81, W-11-720a, R.1 -- Environmental Damage -- NGC Details. XF.(https://coins.ha.com/itm/hard-times-tokens/1838-token-am-i-not-a-woman-and-a-sister-copper-low-54-dewitt-ce-1838-19-ht-81-w-11-720a-r1-environmental-damage-ngc/a/60407-52090.s)