1824 Lafayette Portrait Medal. By François Augustin Caunois. Fuld LA.1824.5, Olivier-35. Silver. MS-63 (PCGS).46 mm. Deep gray on the obverse with accents of pale blue and deep golden-brown across the entirety. The reverse is mostly lighter silver with faint blue mottling through the interstices of the wreath. The difference in toning on the two sides speaks to long-term storage in an old time collectors cabinet, likely that of the Garrett family. Lightly hairlined in the fragile reflective fields, but most attractive and very rare in silver. This one has an exceptional provenance and was off the market between the 1981 Garrett sale and our March 2020 Auction. Before the former, it had been just a year shy of a century since its last offering, in Woodwards March 1882 sale, where it was noted to be "extremely rare in this metal."Ex W. Elliott Woodwards 45th sale, March 1882, lot 675; T. Harrison Garrett, to Robert and John Work Garrett, by descent, 1888; Robert Garrett interest to John Work Garrett, 1919; transfer completed 1921; John Work Garrett to The Johns Hopkins University, by gift, 1942; our (Bowers and Ruddys) sale of the Garrett Collection for The Johns Hopkins University, Part IV, March 1981, lot 2070; our March 2020 Auction, lot 43.
