1832 Andrew Jackson. DeWitt-Unlisted. White metal. 45.5 mm. Fine.

1832 Andrew Jackson. DeWitt-Unlisted. White metal. 45.5 mm. Fine.，Pierced for suspension at 12:00 on the obverse with surfaces rough, nicked and oxidized to dark pewter gray giving the appearance of a piece almost certainly worn for a period of time and undoubtedly highly valued by its owner. This is the first example we have seen of this medal, and as far as we know this is the first time its existence has been published. Notwithstanding, the reverse in particular immediately rang familiar. The medal is very similar in fabric and artistic style to a rare George Washington medal, and the reverse designs are extremely similar, with only minor design changes and a different legend. The Washington medal, a "birth and death" issue, was cataloged by Rulau and Fuld in their revision of Medallic Portraits of Washington as B129, and more recently, by Neil Musante in his Medallic Washington as GW-78. Just four examples are known of that piece, and essentially nothing else has ever come to light about it. It has long been thought to be early 19th century, and has been cataloged along with the Washington funerary medals due to its crude appearance. However, the legend of the medal celebrates Washingtons birth in 1732 as well as his death. Its striking similarity to this 1832-dated piece, dates it neatly to this year as a medal marking the 100th anniversary of Washingtons birth. It is clearly by the same hand as the present piece, and of the same size. The maker was clearly neither skilled nor prolific. Both issues are crudely styled and extremely rare. There are four known of the Washington medal, and this Jackson piece appears to be unique. Further, all but one of these five medals is in rough condition as seen here. As it was unknown to DeWitt and Sullivan, it stands as the largest diameter struck medal known to have been produced for the election of 1832. <p>Interestingly, this piece was gifted to John J. Ford, Jr., apparently by Baldwins, in October 1973, and it would seem that he also missed making the connection to the Washington medal. This is an important discovery in the context of the political collection in which it resides. It is perhaps even more significant for the light it sheds on the clearly related Washington medal, an entry in a field of collecting that has enjoyed long favor and intensive study.<p>，From the Brian Dobbins Collection of American Political Tokens. Earlier ex Baldwins, gifted to John J. Ford, Jr., October 1973, to the present consignor, 1985.<p>，