Jay Turner: PCGS Personal Picks

We were recently asked by our social media team to provide some of our favorite coins and medals. Picking a favorite coin is, for myself, well… It is incredibly difficult. I don’t specialize in any series, country, or even time period. I have seen millions of coins in my numismatic career and, honestly, I have an appreciation for most pieces from the virtually valueless to the pieces worth many millions of dollars. Yet, of all the numismatics pieces I have accumulated, one keeps appearing on my Facebook cover photo. The piece is a 50-millimeter silver medal from India dated 1863 and inscribed 1873.

In 2018, this medal came across my desk for grading and it was love at first sight. Featuring a tiger on the prowl in the bush, the design was incredible to me. That is except for the design of the tiger’s face, which gave the animal a look of incompetence – a feature that made me love the design even more. The reverse deign is a simple wreath left plain in the center for engraving, and the lettering of the “Rifle Association of Northern India.”

India 1863 (1873) Medal Pudd-960.3 Ag India Rifle Association. PCGS SP 58. Click image to enlarge.

It is quite obvious that the tiger would have been considered a trophy animal for this rifle association. The medal listed in the book British India Historic Medals as Pud-960.3 became a relic I truly wanted in my collection. After passing the piece to a couple of friends in the grading room (and hearing the commentary of how dumb the animal looked), I graded the specimen and then it moved on to the next grader, disappearing from my life.

A year later while perusing the Stack’s Bowers Galleries catalog for an upcoming auction, this medal that I had desired was one of the lots for sale. It is not often that I will give myself permission to go all out for a coin, but for this piece I was willing to pay whatever it took to win. I did eventually win the rarity for significantly over its estimate, but it was worth it to me and, honestly, I would have not stopped bidding for this piece. Then the work of researching my new acquisition came into play.

As the medal was an award, it was inscribed on the edge “Won by Sergt C Bolton, 76th Regt at Bangalore Rifle Meeting 1874.” In searching online records, I found that the “C Bolton” was likely referring to Charles Walter Bolton, who went out to Lower Bengal in 1872. He served under the Secretary to the Bengal Government upon his arrival. Being that the medal was issued in 1874, it matches the time period, location, and name of the person that the medal was issued to, meaning in all likelihood the medal was issued to Charles Walter Bolton.

His career in India would continue on an upward momentum. In 1879, Bolton would become a magistrate and a collector. In 1885, he was a member of the Board of Revenue and in 1891, he became chief secretary to the Bengal Government. In 1897, Bolton would be officiated as chief commissioner of Assam. It is unknown if Bolton kept this medal for the entirety of his career in India and after, but the first auction record I can find for the specimen piece is in a DNW sale in 2003 in England.

While it was the design that originally grabbed me, the history of the medal is even more amazing to me. Other examples of this medal awarded and unawarded exist, and I have yet to see another for sale. While I can’t say it is my only favorite piece, it is special and prized in my collection.