1771 College of William and Mary Lord Botetourt Medal. Betts-528. Copper, 43 mm. MS-65 (PCGS). 438.7 grains. Acquired by Mr. Margolis from our August 2012 ANA sale where it was described as follows:<p><p>"An exemplary specimen of this colonial American rarity, the first academic prize struck for what would become the United States. Rich chocolate brown surfaces retain excellent luster and some reflectivity in the fields. Only the most minor handling is noted under a glass, no bad marks and utterly insignificant friction on the highest point of the well-detailed high relief portrait. Some light reverse spotting near the exergue does not affect the lovely visual appeal. <p>"A rare medal, known perhaps to the extent of a dozen specimens. LaRiviere had one, Ford had two (including this one), but these are the only ones we record having sold in public auction in the last decade or more. Two gold specimens are known, of the eight originally struck; they are impounded in the collections of Virginia Historical Society and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The dies, now badly rusted, are still owned by the College of William and Mary. It seems likely they came to Virginia about 1772 with the residue of the estate of Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt, the onetime governor of Virginia who endowed the prize and paid for the production of the dies and medals. <p>"While earlier academic prizes exist for American institutions, including the Kings College medals of New York, the Botetourt medal is the earliest struck type. With elegant dies accomplished by Thomas Pingo, it has gained a much deserved notoriety. The reverse depicts William and Mary delivering the charter for the college to Dr. James Blair, its first president. While the gold medals were given to annual winners in philosophical learning and classical learning, the existence of the copper pieces has not been explained. Having been struck in England before the dies were sent to America, they were clearly struck of the era, perhaps as presentation gifts from Botetourt. The last medals were presented in 1775 as the hostilities of the American Revolution began."<p><p>In the decade since this piece was acquired, we have not sold another example of this medal. Indeed, this is the only specimen weve sold since the 2006 Ford XIV sale. The John Adams piece sold in January 2014 for $8,812.50. Browns <em>British Historical Medals</em> called this medal "of the highest rarity."<p> From the Richard Margolis Collection. Earlier from Sothebys (London) sale of January 28, 1976, part of lot 366; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIV, May 2006, lot 323; our (Stacks) Philadelphia Americana Sale of September 2009, lot 6067; our August 2012 Philadelphia ANA sale, lot 11121.
