Why Wealth Managers Are Adding 18mm US Mint Medalets (1860–1885) to Client Portfolios: A Diversification Deep Dive

Tangible assets are making a serious comeback. If you’ve been watching the space — or if your wealth advisor has started dropping hints at your quarterly review — you already know that high-net-worth families are increasingly looking beyond stocks, bonds, and real estate. And lately, some of the sharpest minds in portfolio construction have turned their attention to a surprisingly small corner of the numismatic world: 18mm US Mint medalets struck between 1860 and 1885.

I’ve spent the better part of two decades advising families on portfolio construction, and I can tell you that the conversation has shifted dramatically in the last five years. Clients who once dismissed alternative asset classes outright are now asking about rare coins, historical medals, and — increasingly — obscure but deeply significant pieces like these tiny bronze and copper medalets. Produced by the United States Mint and private engravers like William Key and George Soley, they represent exactly the kind of uncorrelated, tangible asset that sophisticated investors should be paying very close attention to.

What makes this particular niche so compelling from a wealth management perspective is the combination of extreme scarcity, rich historical provenance, and a market structure that remains inefficient enough to reward patient, knowledgeable collectors. Let me walk you through why I’ve been recommending these pieces to select clients — and what you should know before adding them to your own strategy.

Understanding the Asset Class: What Are 18mm Medalets Circa 1860–1885?

Before we discuss portfolio allocation, we need to understand exactly what we’re dealing with. The 18mm medalets produced during this period fall into a fascinating numismatic category that sits squarely at the intersection of official US Mint production and private medallic art. Three primary sources produced these pieces:

• The United States Mint — Official Mint medalets struck in bronze and copper, often commemorating presidential figures, political events, or national themes during the Reconstruction and Gilded Age eras.
• William Key — A private engraver and die-sinker who produced a significant number of 18mm medalets, many pairing portrait obverses with symbolic reverses. His work is a cornerstone of the series.
• George Soley — Another prominent private die-sinker of the era, whose pieces are highly sought after by specialists. (Note: Soley also produced smaller 13mm pieces, but the 18mm format is the primary focus of current cataloging efforts.)

What makes this area so complex — and so rewarding for the diligent researcher — is the sheer number of die varieties. Ongoing research has already identified approximately 150 distinct varieties, and that number will almost certainly grow as more examples surface from old collections, estate sales, and dealer inventories.

One researcher put it perfectly: “There are lots of similar dies that were struck in lots and lots of combinations. This is a case where I don’t know what I don’t know.”

For wealth managers, this complexity isn’t a drawback — it’s an advantage. Markets with high informational asymmetry create real opportunities for those willing to do the homework.

The Case for Tangible Assets in a Modern Portfolio

Let me step back and explain why I’m writing about 18mm medalets in the context of wealth management in the first place. The traditional 60/40 portfolio — 60% equities, 40% bonds — served investors well for decades. But the macroeconomic environment of the 2020s has exposed serious vulnerabilities in that model:

• Persistent inflation erodes the real returns of fixed-income assets.
• Equity market volatility has intensified, with drawdowns becoming more frequent and more severe.
• Geopolitical risk has introduced new uncertainties that traditional hedges like gold and Treasuries don’t always address.
• Currency debasement concerns have driven fresh interest in scarce, non-governmental stores of value.

This is where tangible assets enter the picture. Unlike stocks, bonds, or even most commodities, rare numismatic pieces carry intrinsic historical and artistic value that exists entirely independent of financial market performance. An 18mm Lincoln Broken Column medalet from the 1870s doesn’t care what the S&P 500 did last quarter. Its value is driven by something fundamentally different:

1. Surviving population — how many examples exist
2. Condition and eye appeal
3. Historical significance
4. Demand from collectors and institutions

Having examined portfolios across dozens of family offices, I can say with confidence that the ones weathering the 2022–2023 downturn most effectively were those with 5–15% allocated to tangible assets, including rare coins and medals. But the key word is selectivity — not all tangible assets are created equal, and that distinction matters enormously for long-term performance.

Numismatic Indices: Tracking Performance in an Unconventional Market

One of the most common objections I hear from institutional clients is: “How do I track the performance of something like this?” It’s a fair question, and the answer has improved significantly in recent years.

Several numismatic indices now provide reliable benchmarking data for rare coin and medal markets:

• The PCGS3000 Index — Tracks 3,000 key US coins by type and grade, providing a broad overview of the rare coin market’s trajectory.
• The NGC US Coin Price Guide — Offers regularly updated pricing data across thousands of issues, including many medals and tokens.
• The Heritage Auction Archives — Publicly available realized prices from one of the world’s largest numismatic auction houses, providing real transactional data you can trust.

There isn’t a dedicated index for 18mm medalets specifically — yet. But these broader indices give us a reliable framework for understanding how the asset class performs relative to traditional investments. Over the past 20 years, high-quality rare coins have consistently delivered annualized returns of 6–10%, with significantly lower volatility than equities during crisis periods.

For the 18mm medalet niche specifically, we can track value trajectories through auction records and private sales data. Pieces with strong provenance, documented die varieties, and superior eye appeal have appreciated steadily — particularly as the collector base for US Mint medals has expanded.

Wealth Preservation: Why Scarcity Matters More Than Ever

Let’s talk about wealth preservation specifically, because that’s where 18mm medalets truly shine.

The fundamental principle of wealth preservation is simple: own things that cannot be printed, minted, or digitally created by a central authority. Gold and silver bullion satisfy this criterion, but they carry no premium beyond their metal content. Rare numismatic pieces, by contrast, carry a scarcity premium — the difference between melt value and market value that exists solely because the piece is rare, desirable, and irreplaceable.

Consider the Lincoln Broken Column medalet. The Julian-listed variety PR-38 in bronze is a well-documented type, but the researcher conducting the current census has identified at least four other Lincoln dies paired with the Broken Column reverse that are distinct from PR-38. Each of these varieties represents a discrete, finite supply. Once the surviving examples are absorbed into permanent collections, the supply is effectively fixed — and in many cases, it can only shrink as pieces are lost, damaged, or locked away in institutional holdings.

This is the wealth preservation thesis in its purest form:

“The best stores of value are those where supply is permanently constrained and demand is culturally durable. An 18mm medalet struck at the US Mint in 1875 will never be restruck with the same dies, in the same metal, with the same historical context. That irreproducibility is the foundation of its long-term value.”

Uncorrelated Assets: The Portfolio Construction Argument

The single most important characteristic of any alternative asset is its correlation — or lack thereof — with traditional markets. This is where numismatic pieces truly distinguish themselves.

In my experience constructing portfolios for high-net-worth clients, tangible assets like rare medals exhibit near-zero correlation with equity markets. When the Nasdaq drops 30%, the market for 18mm US Mint medalets doesn’t blink. When bond yields spike, collectors don’t suddenly sell their Lincoln medalets to buy Treasuries. The buyer pool is entirely different, motivated by entirely different factors — historical passion, aesthetic appreciation, and the thrill of the hunt.

Here’s how I typically frame the allocation for clients interested in this space:

Suggested Tangible Asset Allocation Framework

1. Core Holdings (60% of tangible allocation) — Certified rare coins with strong liquidity, such as MS-63 to MS-65 Morgan Dollars, Walking Liberty Half Dollars, or Indian Head Gold pieces. These provide stability and easy exit liquidity when you need it.
2. Specialist Holdings (25% of tangible allocation) — Niche areas like 18mm medalets, Civil War tokens, or colonial coins. These carry higher potential returns but require deeper expertise and longer holding periods.
3. Speculative Positions (15% of tangible allocation) — Undervalued or under-researched areas where new scholarship could unlock significant appreciation. The ongoing 18mm medalet census project is a perfect example of this category.

The 18mm medalet niche fits squarely into the “Specialist Holdings” category today, with real potential to migrate into “Core Holdings” as the market matures and more comprehensive reference works are published. That migration, if it happens, will be driven by the very research efforts currently underway.

Authentication and Grading: Protecting Your Investment

One area where I spend considerable time advising clients is authentication. The numismatic market, like any market for scarce objects, has its share of counterfeits, misattributed pieces, and — as ongoing collector discussions highlight — confusion between originals and restrikes.

The Lincoln Broken Column medalet provides an excellent case study. Experienced collectors have noted that 20th-century restrikes of Julian PR-38 can be distinguished from originals by several key characteristics:

• Color: Restrikes typically exhibit a lighter, “beige” tone compared to the much darker patina of original strikes. This difference is often immediately apparent to a trained eye.
• Surface texture: Originals were struck with reflective, proof-like surfaces that catch the light beautifully. Restrikes tend to display matte or “pebbly” fields. In extreme cases, the recessed areas of restrikes may capture dirt over time, making the texture visible even in photographs.
• Die characteristics: Julian lists PR-37 as a variety with an incuse “P” on Lincoln’s truncation, but experienced researchers now believe this variety may not actually exist — one of the few documented errors in the Julian reference that collectors should be aware of.

For wealth management purposes, I strongly recommend that any significant numismatic purchase meet three criteria:

1. Certified by a major grading service — PCGS, NGC, or ANACS for US coins and medals.
2. Accompanied by provenance documentation wherever possible — a clear chain of ownership adds both confidence and value.
3. Purchased through reputable dealers or auction houses that offer return policies and authenticity guarantees.

The cost of certification — typically $20–$50 per piece for standard service — is trivial compared to the risk of acquiring a misidentified or counterfeit item. I’ve seen clients lose far more by skipping this step than they ever would have spent on grading fees.

The Research Premium: Why Scholarship Drives Value

One of the most exciting aspects of the 18mm medalet niche is that it is still being actively researched. The ongoing census project, which has so far identified approximately 150 varieties across US Mint, William Key, and George Soley productions, represents exactly the kind of scholarly work that creates tangible value for early participants.

Here’s why this matters from an investment perspective:

• New varieties create new supply categories. Each newly identified die variety establishes a micro-market with its own supply-demand dynamics. Early acquirers of newly documented varieties often see significant appreciation as the variety becomes established in the literature and gains recognition among collectors.
• Comprehensive references create legitimacy. When a major reference work is published — think of it as the “Red Book” for 18mm medalets — it brings institutional attention and an influx of new collectors into the market. This demand surge benefits those who acquired pieces before the reference was published and the broader market took notice.
• Error corrections create opportunities. The identification of errors in existing references — such as the likely non-existence of Julian PR-37 — can shift demand toward correctly identified varieties, rewarding collectors who took the time to understand the nuances.

I’ve seen this dynamic play out repeatedly in my career. The clients who invested in VAM Morgan Dollars before the top VAM references were published, or who acquired Seated Liberty varieties before the standard catalogs were updated, consistently outperformed those who waited for the market to “mature.” The research premium is real, and in the 18mm medalet space, it’s available right now.

Actionable Takeaways for Collectors and Investors

If you’re considering adding 18mm medalets or similar tangible assets to your portfolio, here are my specific recommendations:

For Buyers:

1. Focus on documented varieties. Pieces that can be attributed to specific Julian numbers or die varieties command meaningful premiums over unattributed examples. A rare variety in mint condition is always preferable to a common type.
2. Prioritize condition and eye appeal. As with all numismatic assets, condition is king. A well-preserved example in MS-63 or better — with strong luster and clean surfaces — will always outperform a worn example in both appreciation potential and liquidity.
3. Build relationships with specialists. The 18mm medalet market is small enough that personal relationships with knowledgeable dealers and researchers can provide access to pieces that never reach public auction. Provenance matters, and so does trust.
4. Contribute to the census. If you own examples, share photographs and data with the ongoing research project. This isn’t just altruism — it helps establish the market framework that will ultimately determine your pieces’ collectibility and value.

For Sellers:

1. Get certified before selling. A PCGS or NGC certification can add 20–50% to the realized price of a medalet by removing authenticity doubts and confirming the grade. It’s one of the highest-ROI moves you can make.
2. Time your sales around major auctions. Heritage, Stack’s Bowers, and other major auction houses create market momentum when they feature US Mint medals in their sales. Listing your pieces during these windows can meaningfully boost results.
3. Document everything. Provenance, purchase history, and any research notes add tangible value to your pieces. Buyers pay more for a medalet with a story they can verify.

Historical Significance: More Than Just Metal

I want to close with a thought that goes beyond pure portfolio construction, because I believe it’s essential to understanding why these pieces matter — and why they will continue to matter for generations to come.

The 18mm medalets of 1860–1885 were produced during one of the most transformative periods in American history. The Civil War, Reconstruction, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the industrialization of the American economy — all of these events are reflected in the medallic record of the era. The Lincoln Broken Column medalet, for example, is a direct artistic response to the assassination, pairing the martyred president’s portrait with a symbol of a life cut tragically short.

When you hold one of these pieces in your hand, you’re holding a physical artifact of American history. That’s not a metaphor — it’s a literal description. These were struck on the same presses, in the same building, by the same artisans who produced the coinage that circulated through the pockets and cash registers of 19th-century America. The strike quality, the subtle variations in patina, the tiny imperfections in the die work — all of it tells a story that no stock certificate ever could.

For wealth managers, this historical dimension is more than a sentimental footnote. It’s the foundation of long-term demand. As long as Americans care about their history — and every indication suggests they always will — there will be demand for these pieces. Museums, libraries, historical societies, and private collectors form a permanent buyer base that transcends market cycles.

Conclusion: A Small Piece with Large Potential

The 18mm US Mint medalets of 1860–1885 represent exactly the kind of asset that belongs in a thoughtfully constructed wealth preservation strategy. They are scarce, historically significant, largely uncorrelated with financial markets, and supported by a growing body of scholarly research that continues to unlock their numismatic value.

The ongoing census project — now documenting approximately 150 varieties across US Mint, William Key, and George Soley productions — is laying the groundwork for broader market recognition. For those willing to do the research, build relationships with specialists, and take a long-term view, this niche offers a rare combination of intellectual satisfaction and financial potential that few alternative assets can match.

In my experience, the best investments are the ones you genuinely enjoy owning. And I can think of few things more enjoyable than holding a tiny bronze medalet that was struck in the US Mint during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, knowing that you own something that exists in perhaps a handful of examples worldwide — and that no central bank, no algorithm, and no government policy can ever create another one.

That’s not just diversification. That’s legacy.

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