Owner Comments:
MEDAL APPEARANCE/CONDITION:
Brilliant Gem+
*Beautiful antiqued bronze exhibits a lustrous natural brown with an overall light sandy patina.*
MEDAL BACKGROUND:
Struck circa 1974 to commemorate the centennial of Gunnison, Colorado (1874-1974).
RARITY: Unknown; Likely scarce
NGC Census not available.
MEDAL DESCRIPTION:
(Bronze, 39mm, Round, Plain Edge)
OBVERSE: Centennial - Gunnison Colorado / 1974 / (Depiction of the Gunnison Railway)
REVERSE: Gunnison County Colorado / 1874 / (Depiction of Settler and Native American on Horseback)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
(Gunnison, Colorado):
“The City of Gunnison is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 6,560 at the 2020 United States Census. Gunnison was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer who surveyed for a transcontinental railroad in 1853.” — Credited Source: "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
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(Gunnison Railroad):
“The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad (later called the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway) was a historic 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the first rail routes to a large section of the central Colorado mining district in the decades of the mineral boom. The railroad took its name from the fact that its main line from Denver ascended the Platte Canyon and traversed South Park. Founded in 1872 by Colorado Governor John Evans, the company was purchased by the Union Pacific Railway in 1880, though it continued to be operated independently. The line went bankrupt in 1889 and was reorganized under the new moniker the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway.” — Credited Source: The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad History (PDF), United States Forest Service