No Date Medal GW-Unlisted Brass 32mm Washington-Steuben

Coin Details

Description

Unlisted in both the standard Musante GW and Baker catalogs, this undated 32 mm brass medal featuring dual portraits of George Washington and Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben represents a numismatic rarity that has eluded formal classification in the major Washington medal references. Von Steuben, a Prussian military officer who arrived at Valley Forge in February 1778, is credited with transforming the Continental Army from a disorganized militia into a disciplined fighting force through his systematic drilling program and his "Blue Book" — the Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States — which remained the standard American military manual for decades. The pairing of Washington and Steuben on a single medal honors the command partnership that proved decisive in the Revolutionary War, with Washington providing strategic leadership and political authority while Steuben supplied the professional military expertise that the American forces desperately needed. The brass composition and 32 mm diameter suggest production as a commemorative piece rather than a circulating token, likely manufactured in either the United States or Europe during the nineteenth century when dual-portrait medals celebrating Revolutionary War partnerships were popular among collectors of Americana. The absence of listings in Baker and Musante GW makes this piece particularly intriguing for researchers, as unlisted Washington medals occasionally represent unique or extremely limited productions that escaped documentation during the compilation of the standard references. Rare by any measure, Washington-Steuben dual-portrait medals are uncommon in any format, and this unlisted variety adds the additional appeal of undocumented provenance.

Rarity Notes

Rare. Washington-Steuben dual portrait medals are uncommon.

Cross References

GW-Unlisted; Baker unlisted