Some Revolutionary War Medals
BillJones
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The Continental Congress awarded the Boston before Washington medal to George Washington on March 25, 1776, which was months before the Declaration of Independence was signed. After awarding a medal to a man who forced the British out of a major American city, it is hard to imagine how the two side could have reconciled without handing over Washington as well as the members of Congress for treason trials. Washington would receive a gold copy of this medal, but until 1789. This bronze medal was stuck from the same die pair as the medal that produced the gold piece which was awarded to Washington.
Greene passed on before he was able to receive his gold medal. It was awarded to his widow, and the original die pair, which was made in Paris, was quickly lost. Pieces made from that die pair are very rare. This piece, which has a mahogany finish, was made from a new set of dies that were made at the Philadelphia mint in the 1880s.
And here is an example of the Libertas Americana medal, which was conceived and financed by Benjamin Franklin. This piece has become an American classic because of its direct connection to American independence and the design which appears on the early half and large cents.
Greene passed on before he was able to receive his gold medal. It was awarded to his widow, and the original die pair, which was made in Paris, was quickly lost. Pieces made from that die pair are very rare. This piece, which has a mahogany finish, was made from a new set of dies that were made at the Philadelphia mint in the 1880s.
And here is an example of the Libertas Americana medal, which was conceived and financed by Benjamin Franklin. This piece has become an American classic because of its direct connection to American independence and the design which appears on the early half and large cents.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
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Here is my lowly Libertas
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Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
<< <i>Here is my lowly Libertas >>
There's no such thing as a lowly Libertas.
<< <i> Washington would receive a gold copy of this medal, but until 1789. This bronze medal was stuck from the same die pair as the medal that produced the gold piece which was awarded to Washington. >>
Srsly. How cool is that? Receiving a chunk of gold with your portrait on it. Humbling.
Does the gold medal still exist somewhere?
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<< <i> Washington would receive a gold copy of this medal, but until 1789. This bronze medal was stuck from the same die pair as the medal that produced the gold piece which was awarded to Washington. >>
Srsly. How cool is that? Receiving a chunk of gold with your portrait on it. Humbling.
Does the gold medal still exist somewhere? >>
Yes it is in the Boston Public Library collection, but good luck trying to see it. I tried a few times when I lived in the area but had no luck.
In 1876 group of citizens got together, pooled their money and bought it for the library for $5,000.
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<< <i> Washington would receive a gold copy of this medal, but until 1789. This bronze medal was stuck from the same die pair as the medal that produced the gold piece which was awarded to Washington. >>
Srsly. How cool is that? Receiving a chunk of gold with your portrait on it. Humbling.
Does the gold medal still exist somewhere? >>
Yup. The gold Washington Before Boston medal is in the Boston Public Library collection.
Latin American Collection
I saw the gold WBB in person a few weeks ago. Sadly it has been polished, but it is an amazing thing nonetheless.
Arnold was badly wounded in the leg. Had he died or perhaps rendered an invalid, he might have gone down as one of the great heroes of the war. Instead he seethed during his recuperation period because the Continental Congress overlooked his role in the battle. That contributed to his defection to the British side and place of infamy in American history.
This is one of the easier Comitia Americana medals to find that was struck from the original die pair. The U.S. mint obtained the original dies, and used them for a number of years. They were ultimately replaced with a replacement set. The die break in the area of the flag on the right side of the reverse is the tip-off that this piece was struck from the original dies.
I wonder if the Paris Mint still has the Greene dies and they are just waiting to be found, like they had "lost" the Libertas Americana for a long time.
<< <i>Great Comita Americana medals Bill and Ankur!
I wonder if the Paris Mint still has the Greene dies and they are just waiting to be found, like they had "lost" the Libertas Americana for a long time. >>
The short answer to that one is, "No." If they did still have it, they would have been making copies. The Paris Mint has made copies and restrikes of many of these medals through the years. They can often be dated by the symbols that are stamped on the edge which include an antique lamp, a pointing hand and a cornucopia among others.
Here is picture of one of these symbols that appears on this John Paul Jones medal. This piece was struck from the original dies and the pointing hand indicates that it was made between 1845 and 1860. This piece is another work by Augustin Dupre who also produced the Libertas Americana medal.
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<< <i>Here is my lowly Libertas >>
There's no such thing as a lowly Libertas.
Midlifecrisis, that was my exact thought when I read Ankur's post. I'd love to have one of any grade.
Great thread Bill. Once again you add so much to the forum.
We'll use our hands and hearts and if we must we'll use our heads.
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<< <i>
<< <i>Here is my lowly Libertas >>
There's no such thing as a lowly Libertas.
Midlifecrisis, that was my exact thought when I read Ankur's post. I'd love to have one of any grade.
Great thread Bill. Once again you add so much to the forum. >>
I believe that Ankur's piece is an electrotype, but I could be off on that one. I owned an electro of the Libertas years ago that I bought for $20 and sold for $50 a few years later. Today they bring a few hundred dollars.
Here is another Comitia Americana masterpiece by Augustin Dupre. The gold version of this piece was awarded to General Daniel Morgan for his leadership at the Battle of the Cowpens. This was battle that was depicted in the film, "The Patriot," which starred Mel Gibson.
As it was with the Nathaniel Greene medal the original set of dies was lost early on. The family of General Morgan asked for a gold copy of the medal in the late 1830s because the original one had been lost. The call went out the Paris Mint, and they produced a near perfect set of copy dies. This piece was made from those dies at the Paris Mint during that period. This is considered to be one of the most beautiful medals in the series.
Just curious. Are medals of The Battle of the Cowpens made from the original dies extant? Is it possible for a collector to find a medal from the first dies? Or are only medals from the replacement dies available to collectors?
Thanks again for your post.
This is the original sketch for the reverse of the Nathanael Greene medal. (The dies for Greene, by the way, were not lost by the Paris Mint. They were given to his widow in 1790 and haven't been seen since. They're probably kicking around Rhode Island someplace.)
Needless to say, these medals showcase not only great history, but some of the richest artistry in all of American numismatics. Thanks to Bill for sharing some of his.
Betts medals, colonial coins, US Mint medals, foreign coins found in early America, and other numismatic Americana
Awesome!!
What an extraordinary thread this is!
Lt. Colonel John Eager Howard:
Colonel William Washington:
General Daniel Morgan reverse cliché in tin. For some reason it has had a dark "copper" finish put on it (probably a light lacquer), perhaps to determine the appearance of a bronze medal. This example is from the original die as evidenced by the small diebreak below the M in the date in exergue, and by the pointy sword of Morgan (the later copy dies made circa 1840 by Barré have a wider, blunter sword - and dozens of other small differences):
<< <i>(Bill has a great eye, by the way) >>
I take that as a great compliment. Thank you!
Dupreman, you beat me to it with your two additional Cowpens medals. The original pieces that were awarded to John Howard and William Washington were made of silver, not gold. At the end of the battle Washington, who led the American cavalry had a brief, inconclusive fight with Banastre Tarleton, the much hated English officer (and "heavy" in "The Patriot") who was said to have killed 200 unarmed American prisoners at Waxhaw, North Carolina.
Here is another Comitia America medal with an interesting history. Henry ("White Horse Harry) Lee was awarded a medal for his bloodless capture of Paulus Hook, located across the Hudson River from New York City, which is now known as Jersey City, New Jersey. In a mix up the American ministers to Paris failed to place the order for Lee's medal, and the French did not execute it.
Given that there was no medal for Lee the Americans tried to make one for him. Joseph Wright who is best known for the dies he made for the 1793 Liberty Cap cents, made an obverse and reverse die. Both dies cracked during the processing, and from the there the story becomes a mystery. Did Lee receive a gold medal made from the cracked dies, or did he receive nothing? If he did receive a medal, was it lost, perhaps by the hand of Lee himself?
Lee, who was the father of the father of Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, was a financial failure and was unable to provide for his wife and children. If it existed, did he sell the medal at some point for its gold content? The answer is unknown.
At any rate here is closest that collectors can get to the Lee medal. It was stuck in the 1880s, and it has an interesting twist. The obverse die on this piece is badly broken. When I first bought it I found it odd that this "new" die had broken in a way similar to the one that had been made for the Lee medal. Later I learned that this medal was made from the original die by Joseph Wright! Very seen after the production of these pieces, William Barber, who had made a replacement reverse die from the beginning, replaced it with his own work. As such this piece is rather rare with a mintage of perhaps no more than 40 pieces.
It is neat to have a piece made from die made by Joseph Wright. His large cents are rare and quite expensive, especially in any sort of decent condition. This piece is quite a bit more affordable.
Virtus Collection - Renaissance and Baroque Medals
<< <i> Dupreman, you beat me to it with your two additional Cowpens medals. The original pieces that were awarded to John Howard and William Washington were made of silver, not gold.
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I am proud and fortunate to own a John Eager Howard silver Comitia Americana medal, struck in the same composition as the medal actually awarded to Howard.. I consider John Eager Howard to be one of the most important "unknown" figures in Revolutionary war history. While Howard is a fairly unknown figure in history today, he was well known and respected in his day, and his actions in the Revolutionary War were pivotal to the victory at Cowpens which was the turning point in the Revolutionary War. An Equestrian statue of Howard is at Mount Vernon Place near Washington's Monument in Baltimore. An image of the Howard medal is inset into the base of the statue:
The Howard medal I have is one of only 7 known examples in silver. I believe mine is the finest example extant, but when it comes to these very historic medals, condition is truly not very important. The original medal awarded to John Eager Howard in silver seen below was sent to him by George Washington in March of 1790, and was bequeathed to the Maryland Historical Society in 1959. This image is not too bad, considering it was taken in their warehouse with terrible lighting. The medal has been harshly polished by the family to clean off black residue; this was documented in a family history of the medal written in the early 20th century.
In fact, Howard was apparently given a little know second engraved silver medal by congress. It is listed as Betts-596 in C. Wyllys Betts American Colonial History Illustrated by Contemporary Medals. This medal was displayed along with his silver Comitia Americana medal during a Grand Dinner given for Lafayette during his visit to Baltimore in 1824. The whereabouts of the engraved medal are unknown today, but it was documented again and a line drawing was pictured of the medal in the 1880's, when it was still in possession of the Howard family:
The engraved Betts-596 Virtute Et Justitia Valet medal also appears on a Charles Willson Portrait of Howard in the collection of Independence Hall:
<< <i> Here is another Comitia America medal with an interesting history. Henry ("White Horse Harry) Lee was awarded a medal for his bloodless capture of Paulus Hook, located across the Hudson River from New York City, which is now known as Jersey City, New Jersey. In a mix up the American ministers to Paris failed to place the order for Lee's medal, and the French did not execute it.
Given that there was no medal for Lee the Americans tried to make one for him. Joseph Wright who is best known for the dies he made for the 1793 Liberty Cap cents, made an obverse and reverse die. Both dies cracked during the processing, and from the there the story becomes a mystery. Did Lee receive a gold medal made from the cracked dies, or did he receive nothing? If he did receive a medal, was it lost, perhaps by the hand of Lee himself?
Lee, who was the father of the father of Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, was a financial failure and was unable to provide for his wife and children. If it existed, did he sell the medal at some point for its gold content? The answer is unknown.
At any rate here is closest that collectors can get to the Lee medal. It was stuck in the 1880s, and it has an interesting twist. The obverse die on this piece is badly broken. When I first bought it I found it odd that this "new" die had broken in a way similar to the one that had been made for the Lee medal. Later I learned that this medal was made from the original die by Joseph Wright! Very seen after the production of these pieces, William Barber, who had made a replacement reverse die from the beginning, replaced it with his own work. As such this piece is rather rare with a mintage of perhaps no more than 40 pieces.
It is neat to have a piece made from die made by Joseph Wright. His large cents are rare and quite expensive, especially in any sort of decent condition. This piece is quite a bit more affordable.
In Adams-Bentley, they reveal a much more crowded reverse which they call the "mystery Dies" and posit that this may well represent the original reverse. They list a small number of known electrotypes and casts. The one in my collection could be an electrotype, appears to be cast or struck in lead, then coppered:
The edge:
Bump
Love the history and significance of these medals @BillJones!
Beautiful medals.
I tried to go back and replace all of the photobucket stuff with its annoying watermarks. I can't change other people's posts .... sorry.
This is a great thread .... Thanks for resurrecting it... Too bad some of the photos are lost. Cheers, RickO
Great thread! appreciate the bump. Greene, I think, is one of the unsung geniuses of the Revolutionary war, a master of tactics and use of topography, who made exceptional use of his limited resources.
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The Gates medal is a very important one, and thankfully it is relatively available. That said, every time I look at the reverse, I can't help but think the surrendering officer on the left looks like a grasshopper!