#121-CIVIL WAR SALE: STORECARD IN PHILADELPHIA/U.S. 1876 WORLD'S FAIR, SAME DIE AS SANITARY FAIR?

We acquired this with a group of storecards; it is a nice token and from the "Centennial Advertising Medal Company." Apparently NGC has done its homework and determined that this medal was issued in 1875. So the company was probably formed to produce a variety of medals for the 1876 Centennial and begin using them for advertising the year before the Centennial celebration began in Philadelphia.

The obverse of George Washington is virtually identical to the Great Central Sanitary Fair fund-raising medal from just over a decade earlier. This one, when viewed side-by-side with the earlier version of Washington, looks almost as if the same die was recut to show crisper detail such as on George's hair.

I'm a little baffled by NGC's grade of MS62. This seems one of those infrequently but dramatically under graded by NGC. And as you always hear, you should buy the coin/token NOT the slab.

I believe we are discounting it considering the outstanding appearance of the token versus the surprisingly low grade of MS62. And depending on how you manage your own collection and display it, you might want to have this one right next to Mr. Washington on a Sanitary Fair token.