1883 New York Evacuated Medal by Paquet and Morgan Musante GW-1013 Baker-460B White Metal

An 1883 medal struck for the centennial of Evacuation Day, in white metal at approximately 32 mm, cataloged as Musante GW-1013 and Baker-460B. This is an unholed example, which is the harder way to find one. Many were pierced for suspension and worn at the celebration. The obverse carries a bust of Washington with GEORGE WASHINGTON around; the reverse sets NEW YORK EVACUATED BY THE BRITISH NOV. 25. 1783 within a laurel wreath, with the centennial date 1883 above. The dies are the work of two Mint engravers, Anthony C. Paquet and George T. Morgan. Morgan is the designer of the silver dollar that carries his name. Evacuation Day marks November 25, 1783, when the last British troops left New York and Washington rode down to the Battery to take the city back. New York kept the anniversary as a civic holiday for a century afterward, and the 1883 centennial was the last great observance of it, with a parade, an illumination and a run of commemorative medals of which this is one. Uncirculated with prooflike surfaces, the fields reflective enough to mirror the wreath when the piece is turned under a light. Surfaces are clean, with the small handling marks that white metal always takes. Offered raw, without certification.