Saturday, April 23, 2011

A Ten Commandments Medal / Medallion by Dali.

Ten Commandments Medal / Medallion

This particular Ten Commandments medal is an interesting enigma. 

It is the exact same size and design as its silver counterpart, but it appears to be struck in brass.  It even has the silver "9999" hallmark, indicating that it was struck from the same die as the official silver release.

I conjecture that this brass version is a proof of some kind.

Dimensions:
  • mass is 40.5g;
  • diameter is 50mm;
  • thickest at 3mm;
  • thinnest at 1.5mm.
Calculation of its density based on assumed values of its silver counterpart (mass: 50.5g; density of silver: 10.4 g/cc) yields a value of 8.34 g/cc.  This value is consistent with common brass alloys.

While the silver version of this medal is common, I have never seen one of these struck in brass.  This is a rare piece.

There is clearly no reference point for an item like this, but I place its value at around $125.

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