Possibly The Finest Known High Relief 35mm World's Columbian Liberty Medal with Original Box

I assume you will think that this coin looks quite impressive in these photos. They're merely "adequate," but the medal in person is a silvery chrome color and totally exquisite; it shines like a vial of mercury in the bright sun.

The first Columbian piece I ever purchased was identical to this, with a box not taped, at a 1979 monthly Seattle Coin show at the site of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

I thought the medal was amazing and I purchased it because I was so impressed; I felt it was worth the very low cost (my recollection is that I paid around $20 or possibly $25) and I would enjoy researching it. For several years I attended and had a space to sell at this show and occasionally did other shows as well. I sat down back at my table and put the new acquisition in a case.

Someone I didn't know came up and asked for a price on the medal. I said I'd just purchased it and wouldn't be ready to sell it until I did some research to determine what was a fair price. He pulled out a $100 bill and said "I'll give you this for it." I promptly opened the case and put the medal in his hand as I accepted the $100 bill.

I was instantly remorseful. Quadrupling my money in 30-45 minutes wasn't too bad but I'd quickly fallen in love with that lustrous medal.

I wish I could capture the quality of this medal in my photography, but I don't claim to be an outstanding photographer by any means.

There isn't much to add about describing this aluminum medal other than to reiterate how much more spectacular it looks in front of you rather than online. The previous owner did a rather poor job of taping the pink box together. He used pieces of plain old Scotch tape and no doubt did not have the supplies necessary to do a much better job with tape. I decided quickly that I would not remove the tape as most assuredly some of the pink cardboard box would be ripped off.

Over the years I have sold perhaps 25-30 high relief WCE Liberty medals of all sizes. I would say I was most enamored of that very first one and then the massive 90mm examples, which I sold in a variety of metals.As lovely as those can be they generally do not have the knock-your-socks-off powerful look of this one for example. But a prooflike 90mm aluminum, silver or bronze medal can certainly take your breath away.

The general community of coin collectors referred to these medals as proofs and also proof like. Gradually use of the term "proof" began to fade away and logically so.

No one to my knowledge no documentatio has ever been found callig these proofs or finding out dtails of hte striking of these many different medals in size and metal content.

The extreme high relief and the razor sharp detail makes these medals a poster child for the epitome of "proof like" medal status.

I apologize for the overzealous discussion about these medals in general and this one in particular. The prices of prooflike high relief liberties varies a lot. I firmly believe that sellers have long discussions with themselves about how much they could entice someone to spend and still not scare off potential buyers. It's not unusual to see someone asking $900-$1,000 for a medal such as this one. That would have sounded ludicrous 20-30 years ago, but what is the ceiling price today. I believe that $600+ is a very realistic prie today. A year ago I would have priced such a superlative medal at $495.

I believe my price on this is well below what you might see from any number of ebay or show sellers. One needs to be realistic and hopefully knowledgeable when pricing all coins and medals, not just the finest ones. Please ask if you have any questions and note: that I have had an internet problem that has precluded me from SENDING emails but I can receive them.

Feel free to email to me or better still send a text to my cell line (206-947-6966) with any questions or comments.

I will send this medal to the winning bidder in a priority envelope or via insured mail.