Battles of Rosbach & Lissa (Leuthen) 1757.

[constanius]

Battles of Rosbach & Lissa (Leuthen) 1757. Bust of Frederick the Great.Leg. Leg. BY THE KING OF PRUSSIA. Rev. Maria Theresa kneeling to Frederick the Great, who brandishes a sword above her head. Leg. THE HAUGHTY QUEEN HUMBLED. Pinchbeck with traces of gold colour remaining 24mm. MI Vol 2 page 684 #402.

 

Most of the 'Pinchbeck' medals, though gold in colour when produced in the 18th century, are now just darkish brown. they also suffer from dents, being bent & nibbled. Just think of the Admiral Vernon medals. This Frederick the Great medal in comparison is in good condition with traces of gold colour showing

 

Wikipedia;

Christopher Pinchbeck (c.1670 – November 18, 1732) was a London clockmaker and maker of musical Automata. He was born in Clerkenwell but worked in Fleet Street. Probably his name was derived from Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire. In the 1700s he invented the alloy Pinchbeck a cheap substitute for gold. He made an exquisite musical clock, worth about £500, for Louis XIV, and a fine organ for the Great Mogul, valued at £300. His eldest son, also named Christopher (1710 - 1783) became King's Clockmaker by appointment to George III: among his timepieces is an important astronomical clock made for the King, now in Buckingham Palace.

 

Pinchbeck is a form of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc mixed in proportions so that it closely resembles gold in appearance. Invented in the 1700s by Christopher Pinchbeck, a London clockmaker. The inventor allegedly made pinchbeck jewellery clearly labelled as such. Pinchbeck jewellery was used in places like Stagecoaches where there was a risk of theft. Later dishonest jewellers passed pinchbeck off as gold and it came to mean a cheap and tawdry imitation of gold.