Bronze Medals

[jpcienkus]

I've seen some great bronze medals posted on these boards and it got me interested in buying a couple. I'm looking at a couple 1805 bronze medals, but in the description, they say they have been lacquered. How much will this affect the value of a medal of this date?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[cpm9ball]

Any coin or medal that has been lacquered will diminish in value, but by how much is hard to guess. A lot depends on the scarcity of the medal.

 

Chris

[BillJones]

The lacquer can be removed, but the best feature derived from 19th century mahogany finish medals is their lovely color and surfaces. The removal of the lacquer will probably impair that finish which will result in a considerable diminution in eye appeal and value.

[Flatwoods]

I don't know why it would hurt the value. The laquer should come off easily

With acetone. With that said, unless it' s a rare medal, you could just buy one without laquer and save yourself the trouble.

[jpcienkus]

Thanks all for the insights.

[Flatwoods]

To add to my earlier post. ( I was posting from my phone)

 

Laquer by itself isn't a terrible thing. Sometimes it comes off with no problems, sometimes not. It can be used to hide problems though.

 

There is a seller on Ebay that has sold many, many Wiener medals over the last year or so.

None of them have been choice examples. Many of them have an odd look.

I purchased one to examine. The medal I received had been completely stripped and coated with something. The color was pretty close but it had a very glossy appearance. I'm not sure if it was laquer with some sort of pigment added or

some type of wax.

Some had flaked off during shipping and I removed some more with my fingernail.

The seller was very quick to offer a full refund plus return shipping.

He still has 100% feedback after selling tons of these.

 

I would advise anyone looking to purchase bronze medals to buy top quality examples. After you look at enough you'll know instantly. There is hardly ever enough difference in price between mediocre pieces and top quality examples to warrant buying a lesser example.

[jpcienkus]

Thanks flatwoods.

 

I won a few on Heritage auctions that just ended last night. One does not have lacquer and the other 2 do. There was a difference in the hammer prices.

 

I'll be interested to see them in hand.