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Pair of Gold Lincoln Medal Overstrikes Certified by NGC
This is a fascinating pair of gold overstruck coins with an enigmatic history and production. These are Abraham Lincoln Eagle medallic impressions overstruck on struck 1861 $5 Liberty gold coins. The dies are similar, if not identical to, the U.S. Mint dies used to strike the Lincoln gold medal referenced as Julian PR-30 in the book, Medals of the United States Mint: The First Century, 1792-1892 by R. W. Julian. It is an illustrated history of specialty medals struck by the U.S. Mint.
The MS 65 example was struck by both the obverse and reverse Lincoln medal dies, the MS 66 example was struck by only the obverse Lincoln medal die.
The famous U.S. Mint engraver Anthony C. Paquet retired from the Mint at the approximate time of the striking of the U.S. Mint gold medals. It is believed that the Lincoln medal die was used privately outside the Mint after 1866. A similar raw Lincoln gold medal struck on an 1861 $5 sold for $4,300 in a 2008 Heritage Auction.
Overstrikes are featured in chapter 19 of my
NLG award winning book, World's Greatest Mint Errors.