(1852) Medal Satterlee-126 White Metal Henry Clay

Coin Details

Auction Record

$192 MS62 08-29-2018 Heritage Auctions

Description

This white metal memorial medal for Henry Clay, cataloged as Satterlee-126, was produced around 1852 following Clay's death on June 29 of that year. Clay died in Washington, D.C. at the age of 75, having spent his final years engineering the Compromise of 1850 — the last great legislative achievement of his career, which temporarily preserved the Union by admitting California as a free state while enacting a stronger Fugitive Slave Law. The Satterlee catalog, compiled by John Satterlee in the nineteenth century, documents commemorative medals of American political figures, and this piece falls within the memorial category honoring Clay after his passing. Clay's death, coming just two years after the deaths of fellow compromise architects John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster, marked the end of the "Great Triumvirate" that had dominated American politics for three decades. The white metal composition was standard for widely distributed commemorative pieces, allowing mourning Americans to acquire an affordable tribute to the fallen statesman. Clay lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda — only the second person to receive that honor, after Henry Harrison — and his funeral procession through multiple cities demonstrated the depth of national grief.

Rarity Notes

White metal memorial medal, circa 1852. Satterlee-126. Produced following Clay's death on June 29, 1852. Memorial medals for Clay are collected alongside his campaign pieces to form a complete medallic biography.

Cross References

PCGS #674685; Satterlee-126; Henry Clay memorial; died June 29, 1852