1781 (ca. 1789) Lieutenant Colonel William Washington, Battle of the Cowpens Medal. Original. Paris Mint. By Pierre Simon DuVivier. Betts-594, Adams-Bentley 11. Silver. AU-53 (PCGS).46 mm. 811.3 grains. Last seen in 1925, this is the specimen of this great rarity plated as lot 811 in the epochal 1925 offering of the W.W.C Wilson sale. The Adams Bentley census listed four known William Washington at Cowpens medals in silver: George Washingtons own in the Massachusetts Historical Society, one in the Mid-Atlantic Collection (i.e. the Margolis Collection), the Adams/New England specimen, and one in the Western Collection, i.e. the Ford Collection. Alas, when John J. Ford Jr.s magnificent Comitia Americana medal accumulation came to market in May 2006, no silver William Washington medal was included therein. Though this a new addition to the census of known pieces, it is also a triumphant reappearance of a previously documented specimen. When we cataloged the Adams specimen in 2019, we noted the Wilson piece appears to show a light rim bruise at 3:00 on the obverse as we ticked off the five reputed auction appearances of a silver original William Washington medal. That pedigree marker, seen here, adds a rich and desirable provenance to this newly rediscovered example.<p>Our research found only five appearances of one of these before 2019: Bushnell (1882):1620, Hunter (1920):234, W.W.C. Wilson I (1925):811, Hans M.F. Schulmans sale of February 1973:741 (where a silver William Washington medal was described as depicting George Washington), and Dreyfuss (1986):5246. Of these appearances, only the Wilson and Dreyfuss catalog took the care to illustrate the specimen sold (or even describe it in something more than the most perfunctory terms). ... The Bushnell piece sold to Chapman. It seems likely (though not certain) that it was the Bushnell specimen that later sold in the 1920 Hunter sale.<p>When this piece is added to the three extant silver pieces that were accurately included in the Adams-Bentley census, it makes a total population of just four survivors, of which just three are in private hands. Remarkably, this is the third of those three to cross our podiums.<p>Its more than possible that one of the two weve sold, or this one, was William Washingtons own.<p>The Adams piece, sold as About Uncirculated, was formerly in the 1986 Dreyfuss sale. Pleasing but showing scattered marks, it brought $26,400 in our sale of November 2019. The Margolis medal, certified as Unc Details--Cleaned by PCGS, was the sharpest of the three in private hands, but showed some spotting and evidence of cleaning. It brought $21,600 in our sale of March 2024. This piece shows something akin to pocket-piece wear, with light rub on the design elements. The surfaces are even light silver gray with attractive light iridescent toning. Important details like the unique Paris Mint texture of the raised rim between the inner circle and the edge remain crisp. Scattered marks are present, as are moderate hairlines that are best seen under a glass; the hairlines are most notable in the left obverse field. The trivial rim bruise is mostly hidden by the holder at 3 oclock on the obverse, but adds remarkable value as a provenance marker. A few natural pits are seen at Fames wingtip below the letter E in EQUIT; these are also visible on the 1925 WWC Wilson plate. Minor abrasions and blemishes aside, this medal offers excellent eye appeal to match its exceptional rarity and inestimable historical importance.<p>Silver Comitia Americana medals are among the most powerfully desirable items in the realm of American numismatics. Distributed in tiny numbers to crowned heads and learned institutions of Europe, along with their Congressionally authorized recipient in this case, these original medals were not struck on spec or as collector items by the Paris Mint. Their production was intentional and their meager distribution was intentionally special, shepherded to completion by Founding Fathers like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and William Short. No one will ever complete a set of Comitia Americana medals in silver, and even the most common of them are extraordinary rarities.<p>William Walter Coulthard Wilson was a pioneering Montreal numismatist whose legendary cabinet of North American medals, numismatic Canadiana, and numismatic Americana continues to set the standard for all collections of this material formed since. Though a Canadian by birth, he was married in Connecticut and was a charter member of the New York Numismatic Club. He purchased <em>The </em><em>Numismatist </em>and donated the magazine to the American Numismatic Association, who has published it ever since; he also served as ANA First Vice President. Wayte Raymond cataloged his material for auction, and some of the finest U.S. colonial coins and medals known trace their provenance to the 1925 and 1926 sales of his cabinet.From Wayte Raymonds sale of the W.W.C. Wilson Collection, Part I, November 1925, lot 811.
