Medal - George Washington Funeral

Reverse

Backwards of Obverse

Comment

1799 Washington Gold Funeral Medal Baker-169, R.7. 2.01 gm, 25x30 mm. Jacob Perkins of Newburyport, Massachusetts, produced the gold Funeral medal from designs of Dudly A. Tyng. The portrait was a copy of the profile drawn by Joseph Wright in 1790. This is one of the most highly coveted items in the Washingtonia sets and the present prooflike Gem is one of the finest that we have ever seen. Both sides have rich yellow-gold surfaces with frosty devices and mirrored fields. The reverse of this piece is a brockage style image of the obverse, as it is on all known examples. Here is a spectacular piece for the historically minded collector. Less than a dozen of these are positively known, including one other gem quality (though frosty rather than prooflike) piece that had been incorporated in the cover of a Washington pictorial book.
Despite a minimal education, leaving school at age 13, Jacob Perkins (1766-1849) was one of the leading scientists and inventors of his day, although most people today have never heard of him. In his early 20s, Perkins participated in production of the copper coins for Massachusetts, the now highly collectible 1787 and 1788 half cents and cents. He also produced the 1792 Washington President, Eagle with Stars pattern, one of the most important colonial issues known today. Following his early years in Massachusetts, he spent much of his later life in London. As an inventor, he held a patent for a nail making machine that cut nails and formed the head in a single operation, leading to mass production. He also invented a process for prevention of counterfeit bank notes through steel-plate printing. He was well known for his engraving talents. Perkins was also a goldsmith, and in his later years he worked on steam power projects for railroading. He is also credited with an invention to measure ocean depths through water pressure, and even experimented with refrigeration methods. The gold Washington funeral medal is one tangible link to a remarkable individual.-