WB WREATH-WREATH MEDAL UPDATE

I finally identified the wreath dies I asked about in 2019: Those are the dies of Washington and Lee University's Santini Prize Medal, Julian SC-63.

SC-63 is a very rare medal. It's not pictured in Julian. It took me seven years to find that the New York Historical Society has an example.

There are no examples in any auction catalog in the Newman Numismatic Portal. Even now that I know what to look for, I still can't find another example online.

Since we now know these were indeed US Mint dies, it is even more likely that the WB signature was for William Barber. Dick Johnson (in American Artists, Diesinkers, Engravers, Medalists and Sculptors of Coins and Medals, 1652 to Date) also attributes SC-63 to William Barber. That strongly suggests that he saw an example, given that Julian doesn't mention the signature at all.

The US Mint records show that an example of the Santini Prize medal was delivered on May 25, 1915, in between the dates shown on this medal. The Santini medal was only ever produced in gold.

The New York Historical Santini Prize Medal in Gold

There are no unidentified silver medals mentioned in the US Mint records for April through June of 1915, so we still don't know the exact circumstances that led to the production of this silver striking.

For more information on the New York Historical Society example, see:
Santini Prize Medal (https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/55898/santini-prize-medal)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
MORE ON THE MYSTERY WB WREATH-WREATH MEDAL (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n15a12.html)

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