STACK'S BOWERS: JOHN ADAMS BOLEN MEDALS

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V28 2025 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 28, Number 22, 2025, Article 16

Stack's Bowers will be selling the Claremont Collection of John Adams Bolen Medals on June 24. Select items are discussed below. The full sale can be found here. -Garrett

Undated (ca. 1861) Pioneer Baseball Club Medal. By John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-1. Copper. MS-64 RB (PCGS). 31.5 mm. Handsome red and brown surfaces with intense orange red around the letters of the obverse legend. Gentle blue and green iridescence accents the centers, the reverse being a bit more mellow brown overall but still featuring the same pleasing accent colors. Traces of reflective character remain in the fields. A few trivial patina spots are noted for accuracy, but the eye appeal and overall quality are excellent. All details are boldly struck up with evidence of double striking on the reverse. A prized medal in the Bolen series, indeed, one of the most beloved, and the medal that initiated Bolen's career as a medalist.

The dies for this issue were cut in 1861, commissioned of Bolen by Charles E. Vinton, a hotel clerk at Massasoit House in Springfield, and an associate with the Pioneer Baseball Club in that city. The dies themselves were sold to Vinton, as clearly indicated in Bolen's own manuscript notebook, now in the care of the ANS. The entry pertaining to the dies, however, is in the hand of Major Charles P. Nichols, a prominent Springfield collector. The annotations, as discussed in the introduction to this offering, include various entries as to numbers struck, etc., and were the basis for the listing of Bolen's works in the June 1868 issue of the American Journal of Numismatics. As of 1882, when Edwin Johnson published his listing of Bolen's works, he reported that the dies were still in Vinton's care, but that would not last long, as Vinton is reported to have died by his own hand in January 1883. In Bolen's own 1905 listing of his works, he entered the Pioneer Baseball Club medals as entry number one, clarifying that this was his first medallic commission as a die-sinker.

The Pioneer Baseball Club medals are among the most prized of Bolen's works, and have been since the time of their production. Not only are they his first commission, but they are among the few issues that combine two of America's favorite pastimes, baseball and numismatics. It was reported that club member, Ham Downing "carried his medal with him at all times" and was supposedly buried with it!

Just 75 were reported to have been struck in copper, all of which would have been by Bolen, as these dies are not known to have been sold into the numismatic trade. This is the most desired composition and seems quite a bit rarer than the suggested mintage might indicate. We have just seven appearances in copper in our online archives going back two decades (including this example in 2017).

Ex: From the Claremont Collection. Earlier ex Henry South; our sale of the Tim Gabriele Collection, November 2017 Baltimore Auction, lot 217.

"1794" (ca. 1862) United States Arsenal Medal, Without Sun. By John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-4. Copper. MS-63 BN (NGC). 27.8 mm. Soft blue and violet iridescence dominates both sides while outlines of rich retained copper red are seen around the U.S. Arsenal building on the obverse. Slight olive mottling is noted on the reverse and soft prooflike reflectivity remains through the fields. A lovely specimen, beautifully struck and with minimal handling. Probably one of Bolen's reported 75 struck, as noted in the annotations of his notebook, and in the 1868 AJN listing.

Bolen, in his own hand, referred to this medal, without the sun, as "a more correct view of the building," clarifying that it was a second attempt at the design in which he found greater satisfaction. Not terribly rare, but still missing from Musante's collection in this metal.

Ex: From the Claremont Collection. Earlier ex Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society; Heritage's Long Beach Tokens & Medals Signature Auction, June 2016, lot 99369.

1864 George Washington / Soldier's Fair Medal. By John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-16, Musante GW-679, Fuld-760-1e, Baker-365. White Metal. MS-64 (NGC). 28 mm. Lovely light silver gray with some prooflike character remaining in the fields adding to the overall eye appeal. Just an all-around pleasing example of a medal that almost always has a condition qualifier added to the description from the following list: dull gray; worn; pested; damaged; holed, or some other problem. A survey of the images of white metal impressions of this variety in our archives speaks volumes. Though this is not a rare medal, this is one of the nicest we recall having handled.

"The Soldiers' Fair was held in Springfield from December 19 to 24, 1864. It was a charitable event, with proceeds earmarked for the Soldiers' Rest, a facility maintained for soldiers who were traveling through Springfield by rail. This designation was different from certain related events, usually known as Sanitary Fairs, in which the proceeds went to the United States Sanitary Commission (which also provided services to soldiers.). The event was staged in the Springfield City Hall. A special newspaper, The Springfield Musket, was issued during the fair. Among the exhibits and concessions were a United States Post Office stand which sold postage, including a special 10-cent Soldiers' Fair stamp (all known original letters with this stamp bear the postmark date of December 20); and the New England Kitchen, staffed by local ladies who dispensed home-style meals. The December 23rd issue of The Springfield Musket noted that John A. Bolen, "one of the best die sinkers in New England," was on hand and had struck hundreds of medals in recent days."

The Johnson list indicates two impressions in copper and 350 in tin, but nowhere near that number survives today.

Ex: From the Claremont Collection. Earlier from Heritage's April 2021 Certified American Tokens & Medals Special Monthly Auction, lot 93184.

Undated (ca. 1865) Moore Brothers Store Card. By John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-21, Rulau Ma-Sp 61. Copper. MS-64 BN (NGC). 28 mm. Generous blue-green toning over olive-brown copper on both sides. Sharply struck with satiny fields and very nice eye appeal. A tiny oxidation spot is nestled against the rim on each side with little impact. An extremely rare card in any composition. While the Bolen notebook, the AJN and Johnson listings all include five of these struck in copper and 400 struck in tin, there is no way the number actually struck or distributed in tin could be anywhere near the figure given. It is clear the tin impressions were intended to be the store card for Moore Brothers' distribution and that those in copper were a few delicacies for sale to collectors. The ANS has Bolen's own copper impression, marked B 5 COPPER on the edge. This is the only copper one we have in our archives, from its last sale in 2019, and we find none of any composition in the Heritage archives. Interestingly, Musante only cites the historic auction appearance of three pieces, a single copper and two in white metal, group-lotted in our (Bowers & Ruddy's) 1982 New York Public Library sale. This matches the numbers recorded in our modern sales archives, this lone copper and two in white metal. It is conceivable that they are the same three. The five-piece mintage in copper is likely accurate.

Ex: From the Claremont Collection. Earlier from our sale of the Ralph A. Edson Collection, Spring 2019 Baltimore Auction, March, lot 43.

Undated (ca. 1881) Pynchon House Medal. By John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-39. Silver. MS-66 PL (NGC). 25.3 mm. Uniform dark steel gray surfaces with faint blue and gold undertones and subtle rose toning seeming to glow from the windows of the Pynchon house. Satiny and sharp devices with reflective fields. Just a trace of minor handling in the devices but no serious marks. Johnson did not report any mintages for the Pynchon House medals, but Bolen did, in his 1905 listing. He stated that 10 were struck in silver, which seems reasonable considering the frequency of appearances. Among those we have offered, the weight standards seem quite consistent, suggestive of a single planchet stock and a one-time striking event with no additional pieces produced later. The ANS holds Bolen's silver impression, marked with his initial B on the edge.

The Bowers Collection included the original steel dies for this issue, but it was notably missing this medal in silver. The dies were offered again by us in the Musante Collection, and most recently in 2019. The dies were not sold by Bolen, but retained in his family until 1940. The following Pynchon House history was given in our (Stack's) January 2011 New York Americana Sale catalog:

King's Handbook of Springfield, Massachusetts, 1884, included this: "In 1660 was built the first brick building ever erected in Springfield. It was the dwelling-house of John Pynchon, who is called in the records 'The worshipful Major Pynchon' and later, 'The Worshipful Colonel.' The bricks used in its construction were made at Northampton. The carpenters and masons were from Windsor. The building was 42 feet long, and 21 feet wide. The walls were very thick and solid, rising about 22 feet from the ground to the eaves. The roof was very steep, and the ridge was about 22 feet in perpendicular height above the garret-floor. It was designed to be a fortified house, and was actually used as such during the Indian War. This building remained in the occupation of the Pynchons until it was demolished, in 1831, to make room for a modern house. It was long known as the 'old fort.' John Pynchon was engaged in a very large business as a merchant. He purchased furs very extensively of the Indians and others. These were sent down the river to his warehouse, at what is now known as Warehouse Point in East Windsor, and thence to Hartford, from which place they were shipped to Boston and England. He was an owner, or part owner of, several vessels."

Ex: From the Claremont Collection. Earlier from our sale of the Neil Musante Collection, February 2014 Americana Sale, lot 145; Steve Hayden, December 2017.

"1787" (ca. 1869) Excelsior Copper. George Clinton. Copy by John Adams Bolen. Musante JAB-37, Kenney-8, W-14390. Copper. MS-67 RB (NGC). 26.7 mm. An outstanding specimen of this popular and beautifully made colonial copy. The surfaces have a coarsely frosty appearance from the somewhat crude die finishing applied by Bolen. Considering his skill as a die-sinker, this finishing treatment was certainly intentional (and is seen on his other colonial copies), with the intent of giving these copies a more rustic, "authentic" appearance. Beautifully struck with razor sharp definition through the fine details and no visible handling marks. Though these can come nice, we are not sure we have seen a finer one than this. Indeed, only the lightly spotted PCGS MS-66 example that realized $2,400 in our November 2021 sale seems to come close to the quality seen here.

One of just 40 believed to have been struck, a mintage given by Edwin Johnson in 1882 and matching that stated for the Excelsior copper copy offered above. As with the Excelsior type, this and a single muling, JAB M-11, were presented by Bolen to the ANS as of January 1870. He might have intended these as a set, which would suggest that the mintages were indeed the same in copper. Appearances in our sales for JAB-36 and 37 are virtually equal in number. This said, the AJN notice mentioned that, "Mr. Bolen will furnish either of these pieces, in copper, at the price of Two Dollars...", so it is quite possible that individual orders resulted in an uneven final production number. In any case, the dies were said to have been canceled and presented to the Boston Numismatic Society, so restrikes are seemingly out of the question. All are Bolen originals, and some have probably either been lost or artificially worn to suggest greater age. All are very desirable entries into Bolen's body of works and are "extremely well done," as also mentioned in the AJN.

Ex: From the Claremont Collection. Earlier ex Presidential Coin & Antique' Co., Inc.'s Auction Sixty, June 1996, lot 348; Anthony Terranova.