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Lr. 398 — University of New Brunswick Douglas Medal. 1860. 23K Gold.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1,350.00 CAD Estimated At:4,500.00 - 5,000.00 CAD
Lr. 398 — University of New Brunswick Douglas Medal. 1860. 23K Gold.
SOLD
4,500.00CAD+ (810.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2022 Apr 28 @ 18:14UTC-4 : AST/EDT

Buyer’s Premiums will be added on all items as per the Terms & Conditions of the sale. Invoices will be emailed out after all sessions of the Toronto Coin Expo Spring Sale have concluded.

McLachlan-412, Breton-160. 38.6mm. 29.9g. Reeded edge. Unsigned. The Douglas gold medal was first awarded in silver for the head pupil in the Classical department, and gold for best English essay, in 1829. The original 1829 dies were lost and then redone in 1860. McLachlan writes in Canadian Numismatics: “The dies of this medal are by Messrs. Wyon. When the name of the College was changed [from Kings College to University of New Brunswick in 1859], Mr. E.H. Wilmot, Registrar of the University, to whom I indebted for the above information, in ordering new dies suggested that the rising sun should should be to the left of the building, which would properly locate it as rising in the East.” However, Geoffrey Bell points out in his July-August 1969 Canadian Numismatic Journal article that it is “impossible for the sun to rise or fall where it is located on the medal. This is a southerly direction. Obviously the artist did not know this fact.”
Examples of the 1860 Douglas medal are rare in any metal, but they are virtually unseen in gold. We can find no prior auction appearances, be it 19th century sales through the Newman Numismatic Portal nor in any of the better collections of Canadian medals sold by Jeffrey Hoare Auctions. That is not to say an example has never turned up, just that this cataloguer has been unable to trace any prior opportunities for collectors to add an example to their collections.
This rare educational gold medal is just as sharp as it is prooflike, with beautifully textured fields. It was wiped at one point, typical of awarded gold medals, but the minor hairlines do not distract. An unobtrusive test mark appears at 3 o’clock on the reverse between the field and the rim. Note that XRF testing showed a purity of 23K.
From the Michael Joffre Collection of Canadian Historical Medals