 Undated. Army. Marksmanship. Third Class Medal. Julian MK.5. Bronzed copper. 51.3 mm. Unsigned. Kneeling rifleman/wreath. About Uncirculated. Prooflike. Fairly even light tan-brown surface finish. Unawarded. Rare: one of just 15 struck 1882-1888. Mintage figures are only a rough guide to present day rarity, of course. In the field of U.S. Mint marksmanship medals this holds particularly true. Most sales of U.S. Mint medals lack even a bronzed copper unawarded medal, let along a silver or gold specimen. These all were extremely ephemeral, the bronzed pieces had no intrinsic value while the silver and gold medals could be converted into cash if necessary. Mintage figures, developed by the late Carl Carlson, only tell how many were made and issued. The cataloguer suspects that silver U.S. Mint marksmanship medals are very rare and gold ones extremely rare. Bronzed copper pieces are just rare. A modern study of this series, incorporating both military and mint histories, is long overdue.
Ex Providence Collection (NASCA, July 16, 1981, lot 70).
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