 Libertas Americana, 1781. B.615. Reverse signed DUPRE.F. Silver. 47.6 mm. 781.4 gns. Liberty facing left after Benjamin Franklin's design, liberty pole and cap behind her head, the type that later appeared on the 1793 Half Cents, July 4, 1776 in exergue; France as Athena protects the infant American republic from the attack of the British lion with a shield bearing the French arms. Young America has just killed two snakes in its crib symbolic of the victories at Saratoga (1777) and Yorktown (1781). Uncirculated. Gentle hairlines hidden by rich, deep gray toning.
The medal was commissioned by Benjamin Franklin as a tribute to American independence. Silver specimens were distributed by Franklin to the president of Congress, members of George III's government, and the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, among others. Members of the Continental Congress of 1783 may also have received silver medals, but there is no certainty about this (they may have received bronze medals, instead, Franklin was not definite). The dies were finished in late 1782 and the first medals were struck in 1783.
Ex Harry Forman on June 13, 1958.
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| Hammer Price: $110,000.00
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