Well it certainly was not made to strike any medals or any metal objects. Just because you can't find a reference to anything printed on the net doesn't mean no printed documents, advertisements, or other printed matter like business cards were ever made. It is indeed made for printing and all your wishing it weren't won't change that fact. Perhaps J A Beaver had some business or introduction cards made up expressing his membership in the Old Guard, or maybe it was used to print literature for his campaign for governor. Once more it was not used to strike any medals. It is a cool find, just not what you seem to wish it to be. Any personalized medals would have had to have the owner's name hand engraved on the medal after the medal was made or a die would have had to have been made for every different name and that is highly unlikely die to the high cost of having dies made. You asked for other "experts" to weigh in, well I am no expert in the field of campaign medals but I surely know about dies for striking coins, medals, tokens, jewelry, etc, I do die stamping in my work. I also have dealt in old printing blocks and know what they are made of and what they look like. You, sir, have found a printing block.
