An 1861-dated dime-sized medal depicting Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis that was once part of the Davis Estate was a re-offering in the Heritage Auctions sale that improved on its prior auction appearance. When it sold at Heritage’s January 2015 sale of the Donald Groves Partrick Collection, it realized $30,550; in the firm’s June 17 auction in Dallas, it brought $36,000.

Heritage wrote, “This curiosity has been called a dime over the decades, even though it is struck in gold alloy and has been called a medal or medalet since first discovered in 1879.” It is composed of 48% gold, with the balance split between copper and silver. Graded About Uncirculated details, Mount Removed, by Numismatic Guaranty Corp., it is the only known example struck in gold (although some gilt silver examples are known). When offered in 1905 at auction, it was accompanied by a letter from Davis’s daughter stating that it was produced in Paris, though that letter has since been lost.

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