1790 Benjamin Franklin, The Lord of Lightning Medal. Fuld FR.M.NL.8. Silver, 39 mm. MS-62 (PCGS). 261.3 grains. One of the most exciting specimens in this collection, an unheralded rarity that may be unique in private hands. The obverse copies the Cochin portrait of Franklin, with a memorial inscription listing the date of his death in the exergue, while the magnificent reverse shows a collection of Franklin related objects - a Dutch-style free hat, a globe, books, an electric battery, and a broken scepter with chains - all within the legend FULMINIS TYRANNIDISQUE DOMITOR, translating to The Lord (or master) of Lightning and Tyranny. The reverse exergue is signed by the Dutch engraver Lageman, either pere or fils. The surfaces are reflective and lovely, with beautiful old toning of rich gold and deep antique gray. Only some trivial hairlines prevent a higher grade.<p><p>This is the earliest and rarest of the Franklin memorial medals, unknown to Sellers and listed in Fuld by virtue of its listing in the Appleton monograph in the January 1873 <em>American Journal of Numismatics</em>. Appletons listing, entitled "Medals of Franklin," listed 39 Franklin medals in Appletons own collection, most or all of which ended up at the Massachusetts Historical Society. This piece is listed therein as Appleton IX, cataloged in bronze but not silver. William Blades also cataloged this medal, in his <em>Numismata Typographica, or The Medallic History of Printing</em> in 1883. Listed as 238, he noted that the medal was "an extremely scarce variety; a specimen sold lately at Leipzig for ₤4, 15s." Blades had also exhibited one at Guildhall Library in London in 1873 and again at the 1877 Caxton Exhibition in London.<p><p>The first American appearance of a silver example appears to have been in the famous 1878 Henry W. Holland sale by W. Elliot Woodward, who called the Holland specimen a "splendid proof in silver" of "the finest and rarest of all the Franklin medals." It brought $10. A few years later, a second example turned up in the December 1885 Chapman brothers sale, where lot 1192 brought $16.75 (or 50 cents more than a "splendid proof" original silver 1757 Quaker Indian Peace medal). It was described as "Silver proof. Of excessive rarity. We only know of 2. Secured by us this summer from a large collection in Europe. Bushnell did not have it." One wonders if this was the one Blades heard about selling a couple years previous at Leipzig. The only other silver example that traded hands in that era, as best we can tell, was in Frossards April 1893 sale of the E.S. Phillips Collection, a silver example described as "beautiful and very rare" with the note that it "cost $9.50 in one of Ed. Cogans sales years ago." Either of these or another one was consigned to Harzfeld for his spring 1878 sale, as he noted on page 80 of the January 1878 <em>American Journal of Numismatics</em>. It must have sold privately before the auction, as the rest of the consignment Harzfeld mentioned appeared in his March 1878 sale but that medal, called "a fine silver proof impression," did not.<p><p>After that brief flurry of 19th century appearances, the record goes quiet for years.<p><p>On p. 1395 of their monograph in the December 1956 issue of <em>The Numismatist</em>, George and Melvin Fuld state briefly that "Many of the medals are of exceptional rarity and have been indicated as such in the list. Undoubtedly the greatest rarity is the piece by Lageman listed as FR.M.NL.8." Aside from Appletons listing and that brief blurb in Melvin and George Fulds "Medallic Memorials to Franklin," little has been written about this medal. It does not appear to even be listed in Phil Greenslets <em>The Medals of Franklin</em>. <p><p>But Richard Margolis knew about it and was waiting for the chance to buy this medal (and the next) in the Ford Collection when he had an opportunity. In the June 11, 2006, issue of <em>The E-sylum</em>, Margolis wrote a brief note: <p><p>"A couple of belated comments on Alan Weinbergs extremely interesting report on Ford XIV, which I was very happy to attend. The pair of Franklin medals by Lageman (I dont know whether they are by the father or the son, both of whom were engravers) were struck in Holland, not Germany. JJF told me years ago that he owned this pair, so Ive been quietly waiting in the wings ever since for the opportunity to acquire them. The Fernand David sale (J. Schulman, March 11, 1930) is the last prior public offering I am familiar with, and David only had a silver specimen. Comparison of its illustration in the David sale catalogue indicates that it is a different example from Fords."<p><p>Margolis out-experted the experts. In the Ford sale, this medal received a three-line description that, following a description of metrology and devices, fully postulated on this medal "Nicely toned and brightly reflective. This is a very rare medal." Despite the brevity, this piece brought $27,600.<p><p>We know of no other 20th or 21st century offerings beyond the Fernand David sale of 1930 and the Ford sale of 2006. A silver example and a brown Uncirculated copper are in the collection of Yale University, and Appletons bronze example is at the Massachusetts Historical Society, but we track no others. The David plate is of a plaster cast, produced to make photography easier, which makes it tough to plate match today. We presume there are at least three of these, but would be shocked to hear there are more than one or two in private hands. We suspect there are perhaps one or two others in institutional collections.<p><p>It would be easy to call this unique in private hands, as the only one Mr. Margolis heard of in his seven decades of collecting Franklin medals. If we had done so, we suspect no one would come forward to prove us wrong.<p> From the Richard Margolis Collection. Earlier from the Wayte Raymond estate; John J. Ford, Jr. Collection; our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIV, May 2006, lot 362 (at $27,600).
