Silver dish with Jean Dassier Medal (or replica)

Seeing the cute little dish Maltese dish that Shangas posted reminded me that I had this little - just under 4" (9.7cm)- sterling dish with an Edward I medal by Jean Dassier mounted into the base. Years ago I asked about it on the eBay boards and I really only received one thought to the age - that it was a reproduction due to the lack of detail.

I'm hoping some of the 'coin people' on this forum might know something about these medals. I've researched how to distinguish between the originals, struck in 1731, the re-issued ones struck in 1820, and the modern reproduction ones, with very little luck in finding any very definitive answers. I can't even find a consensus on what metals were used for the 1731 versus the 1820 sets.

This medal looks like either copper or bronze to me (was a little brighter when I first bought it - I polish the silver with a sunshine cloth, but don't know what to do with the center)

There is considerable loss of definition on the face of the medal, but I don't know if this is from it being a later re-strike or from wear due to years of use and polishing ... there is less wear to the detail near the edges of the medal and on the reverse side.

On the reverse (shown in the close-ups) are some remnants of some sort of dark substance that can be pried off with a fingernail. I have no idea what this stuff is nor if it is supposed to be there.

 

In my opinion that is an antique medal, though whether 18th or 19th C I have no idea.
It is a really good looking little dish, though.

 

Thank you, af!

 

lovely piece !!

 

Cool. Thank you, Davey I'll give it a bath tonight and see how it looks when it's squeaky clean.

 

Thank you, komo

 

The bath did nothing as far as removing, or even softening the dark substance.

Since it's worn pretty heavily plus mounted in the dish ... diminishing its value as a medal ... I went ahead and poked at some of the substance with a toothpick. Whatever it is, it seems fairly brittle and pops free with just a bit of pressure.

The exposed surface underneath is bright and yellow. Is this what bronze looks like in an un-oxidized state?

This dark substance is only on the reverse side of the medal (bottom of the dish), and is mostly around the edge of the medal where it meets the silver. Glue, maybe?

 

Quirky - that black stuff almost looks as if someone used the dish as an ashtray!


Oh, wait... Do you mean it's on the outside of the bowl?

 

Yes. On the underside/outside.

 

Hmmm... How curious.