102385 | UNITED STATES. Columbus/Puerto Rican Expo gilt bronze award Medal.

102385  |  UNITED STATES & PUERTO RICO. Christopher Columbus/Puerto Rican Expo gilt bronze award Medal. Issued 1893 as a prize for the expo and as a commemoration for the 400th anniversary of the island's discovery (50mm, 12h). By Sola y Camats & Castells in Barcelona.

 

Draped bust of Columbus facing slightly left; in background, ship under sail right and globe with inverted anchor / ★ EXPOSICION DE PUERTO RICO ★ / CON MOTIVO / DEL / 4° CENTENARIO / DEL DESCUBRIMIENTO / DE LA ISLA in five lines; above, arrow left; below, horizontal laurel branch and PREMIO AL MÉRITO.

 

Eglit 303; Storer 228. PCGS SP-64. Extremely brilliant and alluring, with a great golden-yellow nature to the color. A very rare Columbian portrait type, and almost never encountered so enticing and problem-free. Compare to similar examples in Sedwick 30 (November 2021, lot 1403), a slightly inferior ungraded UNC that realized a total of $1,320, and in Heritage 61180 (November 2020, lot 99078), a somewhat scuffed ungraded AU that realized a total of $1,560.

 

Ex David Sterling Collection.

 

During the lead-up to the quadricentennial of Columbus's initial contact with the New World, numerous medals were designed and struck, both in the United States—in conjunction with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago—and abroad—sometimes for this event or for similar others. In this case, Puerto Rico celebrated the island's own discovery that year as well.

 

Upload: 15 May 2023.

 

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