1781 (1783) Libertas Americana Medal. Original. Paris Mint. By Augustin Dupre. Betts-615, Adams-Bentley 15. Silver. AU-58+ (PCGS).47.6 mm. 804.8 grains. Plain, concave edge. An elegant survivor of this rarity, an object of rich historicity, extraordinary proximity to the American Founders, and sublime aesthetics. Worn or untouched, toned or brilliant, copper or silver, every Libertas Americana medal is a talisman that connects us with some of our most revered predecessors. And, in their own way, each is beautiful. A medal like this requires neither experience nor specialized knowledge to love, however. Its surfaces are toned in breathtaking fashion, incorporating blue, champaign, violet, and deep orange-gold on its nicely reflective surfaces. The devices show Dupres vision and tell the story of the allegory he chose in ideal fashion, with only the merest trace of friction on the high relief central designs. The scattered marks on the surfaces of both sides do nothing to detract, either individually or en masse. This medal has had a life and seen some handling, but remains beautiful like a well formed face whose wrinkles only betray experience. Libertys expression, pleasant and mild, stands out from the fields with good contrast. It is no wonder his contemporaries idolized Dupre, and also not surprising that artists he knew placed this design on a pedestal high enough to choose to copy it for an artists convention medal just a few years after it was made. The allegory on the reverse continues to tell the story of Americas birth with both brevity and deep meaning. France is Minerva, wise and protective. England, the leopard, is both aggressive and cowardly, its tail curled between its legs. The baby in the crib evokes the fable of the infant Hercules, who avoided a solemn fate before hed left his cradle by killing the two snakes sent by his stepmother, Hera. The two snakes sent by Americas stepmother, the United Kingdom, were the armies defeated on the dates in the reverse exergue. Burgoyne dropped his sword in the soil at Saratoga to surrender the largest army in the north on October 17, 1777, and Cornwallis lost the battle and the war when he was bested through strategy and will at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.<p>This medal was widely desired in its day, and Benjamin Franklin was as proud of this creation as any of the era. "I am happy that both the Device and Workmanship of the Medal are approvd with you as they have the good Fortune to be by the best Judges on this side the Water," Franklin wrote to President of Congress (and later Mint Director) Elias Boudinot. He continued "It has been esteemd a well-timed as well as a well-merited Compliment here, and has had good Effects." In September 1783, about five months after Franklin received the first of his new creations in hand, he sent a pile of these medals from Paris to Boudinot back in the United States. Boudinot received a silver medal just like this one to keep. As for the rest, "not having any particular directions from you, I distributed [them] among the Members of Congress, presented one to the Governor of each State, and the Ministers round Congress." Franklin sent silver examples to those he felt most deserved them: aristocrats in Europe, close friends, officials of importance. We have no idea how many were struck, but certainly only a few dozen survive in this most noble composition. PCGS has certified a silver example on 21 occasions (or 22, as at least one silver example certified before medals were officially accepted for encapsulation is missing from the pop report). While a fair number of them have graded higher, weve seen most of them -- and this is prettier than the lions share.<p>Medals are beloved because they are both beautiful and historic. They are also, for the most part, far rarer than coins that gain similar levels of esteem and value. Superlatives are inevitably splashed all over this medal -- it was, after all, the unanimous choice as the number one most important medal among all who submitted ballots for the book <em>100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens</em>. There can be no other choice, as no other medal is both <em>so</em> beautiful and <em>so</em> historic, beautiful enough to be feted by artists and historical enough to have been a literal witness to history. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the date on its obverse, demand and interest in this medal will only increase. It is fortunate to uncover this medal now, after decades in the Richard August collection, and see it shine as it approaches such an august commemoration.From the Richard August Collection.
