(1860) White Metal Medal GW-368, Bushnell Quando Ullum

Coin Details

Auction Record

$720 MS63 11-09-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

This white metal medal cataloged as GW-368 is the white metal version of Bushnell's "Quando Ullum" Washington medal, produced circa 1860. White metal — a tin-based alloy — was the most affordable composition for medal production and gave pieces a silvery appearance when fresh. Charles Ira Bushnell, the prominent New York numismatist and author, issued this medal in multiple metals to appeal to collectors at different price points, a common practice among nineteenth-century numismatic entrepreneurs. The white metal version would have been the most widely distributed, making it accessible to beginning collectors while the brass and silver versions served more advanced collections. The "Quando Ullum" motto — essentially asking "when shall we see his like again?" — transformed a Washington medal into a philosophical meditation on leadership, loss, and the passage of time. White metal pieces are often found in lower grades than their copper or brass counterparts because the soft tin alloy is vulnerable to bending, corrosion, and environmental damage.

Rarity Notes

GW-368, white metal. Bushnell issue. More available than brass version but survival rate is lower due to fragile composition.

Cross References

PCGS #909476; GW-368; Bushnell Quando Ullum, white metal