I feel bad about this, but...............

[cpm9ball]

............it has been so long ago that it's too late to do anything about it.

 

A discussion arose on another forum about the composition of a Bicentennial Medal, and I remembered that I had bought a bunch of them in a bulk purchase some 7 or 8 years ago. So, I dug them out and started researching them. I have 5 different designs, and according to the leaflet that came in the presentation case of the National Bicentennial Medal, they were authorized by Public Law 93-179 to be produced in gold, gold-plate, silver and bronze. I have 10 silver medals and 4 gold-plated medals. I'm pretty sure that all of the silver medals are .925 fine Sterling.

 

Like I said, these came in a bulk purchase which included a bunch of 70's & 80's proof sets and about 50 Morgans. Both the seller and I assumed that these gold-plated medals were probably thinly gilded and it was inconsequential. I think I only paid $10 each for all of them, silver and gold-plate.

 

Well, my research led me to a site of someone who specializes in US Commemorative Medals, and he just happens to have a couple of the gold-plated medals. To my surprise, each one contains .373 oz. of pure gold. So, the 4 that I have are worth just a tad shy of $2400, and I only paid $40 for them.

 

What am I expected to do? It has been so long ago, that I can't remember anything about the man.

 

Chris

[Chris1976]

Chris, just curious, what do your Medals look like. I'd be interested to see if mine are the same ones.

It would be very interesting to know since I recently picked up three of these extremely cheaply.

 

anything like these?

 

 

 

-Chris#2

[cpm9ball]

Chris, just curious, what do your Medals look like. I'd be interested to see if mine are the same ones.

It would be very interesting to know since I recently picked up three of these extremely cheaply.

 

anything like these?

 

 

 

-Chris#2

 

That's it!

 

This is the small gold version of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission medal struck by the US Mint in 1976. 29,468 of these struck with many being melted in the 80's. Contains 12.9 grams of 90% gold for an actual pure gold weight of .373 ounces.

 

 

2 available at this time! Price is based upon $1200/ounce gold. Price may vary based upon actual gold spot at time of sale. Please contact me if interested for availabilty and total price w/shipping/ins. This piece is on consigment and will not last long. $529

[Chris1976]

well holy !!! I did very well then, I only paid $3 each

 

-Chris#2

[BillJones]

There were gold and silver plated Bicentennial medals as well as solid gold and silver pieces. They come in many sizes and compositions. There is a very rare large size gold one. Not many were sold and many of those that were sold probably went the melting pot in 1979-80.

 

The one shown here is sold gold, and is a little bigger than an quarter. It's the only one I have, and bought it for melt some years ago when gold was cheap.

[gmarguli]

What am I expected to do? It has been so long ago, that I can't remember anything about the man.

 

1) Take them to a dealer to have them melted while gold is insanely high in price.

 

2) Forget about the person you purchased them from. It was a fair purchase with no intent to deceive.

[cpm9ball]

What am I expected to do? It has been so long ago, that I can't remember anything about the man.

 

1) Take them to a dealer to have them melted while gold is insanely high in price.

 

2) Forget about the person you purchased them from. It was a fair purchase with no intent to deceive.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking, Greg, unless I can find another collector interested in them.

 

Chris

[Chris1976]

There were gold and silver plated Bicentennial medals as well as solid gold and silver pieces. They come in many sizes and compositions. There is a very rare large size gold one. Not many were sold and many of those that were sold probably went the melting pot in 1979-80.

 

The one shown here is sold gold, and is a little bigger than an quarter. It's the only one I have, and bought it for melt some years ago when gold was cheap.

 

I'm sorry Bill, I know I am probably reading this wrong, but I'm a little confused. Was there going to be a picture included with this post or was this being quoted from somewhere?

 

-Chris#2

[jtryka]

If it were me, and I knew who I bought them from, I'd sell them and send him a few hundred buck as a goodwill gesture. But I wouldn't do that till I had cash in hand from a sale, as you never know!

[cpm9ball]

If it were me, and I knew who I bought them from, I'd sell them and send him a few hundred buck as a goodwill gesture. But I wouldn't do that till I had cash in hand from a sale, as you never know!

 

My problem is I don't remember!

 

Chris

[Dudley the 1st]

There were gold and silver plated Bicentennial medals as well as solid gold and silver pieces. They come in many sizes and compositions. There is a very rare large size gold one. Not many were sold and many of those that were sold probably went the melting pot in 1979-80.

 

The one shown here is sold gold, and is a little bigger than an quarter. It's the only one I have, and bought it for melt some years ago when gold was cheap.

 

 

You are exactly correct. These came in various compositions and all were not precious metal compositions.

[bsshog40]

I did find these pics of the different types.

 

 

[Chris1976]

really dosent matter to me what my coins are, I simply bought them because they are from my birth year. I wont lie, it would deffinately be nice if they were the gold plated ones, but, I'm not about to take it out and use a scratch test kit on them just to find that out right now.

 

-Chris#2

[cpm9ball]

Unfortunately, there was a mix-up in the descriptions, and these medals, mine and Chris1976, do not contain .373 oz. of gold. C'est la vie! Well, now I don't feel so bad about the situation. Hey! Wait a minute! Yes I do!

 

Chris

[DC Dawg]

Be very careful. In addition to the gold, the U.S. Mint also produced thousands of gold-colored medals made using brass-plated zinc. Check the weights, they should weigh 1 troy ounce (31.1 grams), 1/4 troy ounce (7.77 grams), or 1/10 troy ounce (3.11). If the medal is lighter than these, then they're brass-plated zinc.

 

Scott

[Chris1976]

Based on the information and pictures I gave to Ken Barr (via email) , he said that the coins I have shown on page one of this thread appear to be the gold plated version with a retail of around $5 each. Not the greatest but as I stated before I bought mine purely because they are from my birth year.

 

-Chris#2

[HiHoAudio]

Unfortunately, there was a mix-up in the descriptions, and these medals, mine and Chris1976, do not contain .373 oz. of gold. C'est la vie! Well, now I don't feel so bad about the situation. Hey! Wait a minute! Yes I do!

 

Chris

 

Ahh, the highs and lows of coin collecting.

[Conder101]

Should be easy enough to determine if you have the plated or the gold version, just check the diameter. the plated version is the same size as a Morgan or peace dollar 1 1/2 inches. the gold version is smaller by 3/16th of and inch. Or 33 mm, just a little larger than a half dollar.

[Chris1976]

Correct, but mesuring wont help to tell if its just high quality bronze (commonly appeared the same as gold stamped coins for the time period) or if it were gold plated since the two coins were the same diameter. But there was a slightly different luster to the plated coin when viewed under typical household lights. Looking at the edge wont help either as you can't see the clad layers.

 

-Chris#2

[BillJones]

There were gold and silver plated Bicentennial medals as well as solid gold and silver pieces. They come in many sizes and compositions. There is a very rare large size gold one. Not many were sold and many of those that were sold probably went the melting pot in 1979-80.

 

The one shown here is sold gold, and is a little bigger than an quarter. It's the only one I have, and bought it for melt some years ago when gold was cheap.

 

I'm sorry Bill, I know I am probably reading this wrong, but I'm a little confused. Was there going to be a picture included with this post or was this being quoted from somewhere?

 

-Chris#2

 

No, the piece that was shown already is all I have. There are quite a few varieties of this medal in various sizes. Some of them are well struck and attractive. Others, especially the larger ones with plating on them are not. Like most all medals that don't have a face value, collector interest in them is limited.

[Chris1976]

oh ok, thank you for clarifying that for me Bill.

 

-Chris#2

[Conder101]

Correct, but mesuring wont help to tell if its just high quality bronze (commonly appeared the same as gold stamped coins for the time period) or if it were gold plated since the two coins were the same diameter.

But the only reason you would care to tell the bronze from the plated bronze is if you are trying to put together the whole series. If you are just wanting to know if it is bronze or gold, then the size will work.

[cpm9ball]

Post deleted. Wrong thread.

 

Chris

[bsshog40]

So here's a pic of one I have. It is 1 1/2" and weighs 1.24oz. The capital holder I posted earlier in this thread doesn't say a silver plated medal. But, the edges make me think different.

 

 

 

[Chris1976]

I've seen things like that on some of the bullion bars I used to have. The smelting company told me it was due to it cooling too quickly, or improperly cleaned dies.

 

-Chris#2

[bsshog40]

So maybe it is full silver instead of plated?

[cpm9ball]

It isn't plated, Bobby. It's silver, but I'm not 100% sure if it is .900 or .925. The public law that authorized these didn't include a clad version.

 

Chris

[bsshog40]

I'm finding out it's 925 silver Chris. The actual weight is 1.085oz. Kind of cool since when I bought it the seller was describing it as a bronze or gold plated medal. I have a bronze/gold plated also and the difference is very clear from silver to gold color.