(c.1835) Medal Baker-332 Silver Tyrant Alcohol

Coin Details

Auction Record

$385 MS70 09-15-2019 eBay

Description

A silver medal cataloged as Baker-332 in the "Tyrant Alcohol" temperance series, bearing no date but produced in the 1830s-1840s during the height of the American temperance movement. This medal enlists Washington's image and moral authority in the crusade against alcohol, a powerful rhetorical strategy employed by temperance advocates who sought to associate their cause with the virtues of the Founding Fathers. The obverse features a portrait of Washington, while the reverse carries the anti-alcohol message that gives the series its name, denouncing alcohol as a tyrant over the lives of Americans. Baker-332 designates this specific undated variety within the broader Tyrant Alcohol medal family, which includes multiple die pairings, metals, and edge varieties. The absence of a date was intentional to give the temperance message timeless authority. Silver, medium format.

Rarity Notes

Rare in silver. Undated silver specimens of the Tyrant Alcohol type are seldom encountered at auction.

Cross References

Baker-332; Musante GW-163/164 (related types); Rulau-related; temperance movement medals