The Medallic Work of John Adams Bolen: Die Sinker &C.

Description

A biography

Author – Neil E. Musante. Well illustrated with hundreds of photographs of tokens, medals and ephemera, 8 color plates of tokens, dust jacket.                                                New, shrinkwrapped. Limited to 725 copies.
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Publication Date: 2002
Size: 6.25×9.25
Pages: 334

Limited First Edition

BOLEN, John Adams  (1826-1906) diesinker, copyist, medalist. Springfield, Massachusetts.
Born New York City, 10 November 1826.
Moved to Springfield, Massachusetts in 1850. In business as
die sinker, jeweler and agent for a sewing machine firm.
Actively created dies 1861-69. Bolen first copied rare Colonial
coins; these pieces are accepted today by numismatists for what
they are: struck copies. He also created patriotic medals and
store cards. He was weak creating new designs, but was an
excellent copyist. His dies are characterised by stark devices
without further symbolism or decoration often with reverses
which were entirely typographic.
Bolen kept meticulous records of his mintage figures
for all his dies struck in several compositions (and mulings!).
However, after the Bolen dies were dispersed to
Frank Smith Edwards, John W. Kline (q.v.) and William Elliot
Woodward, these men all restruck Bolen dies anew, often
muling these with each other (and without recording mintage
records).
Died Springfield, Massachusetts, 14 March 1906.
Major work: John Adams Bolen and his medallic work was the
subject of an extensive study by Neil E. Musante, {2002}