1807 William Wilberforce Medal. BHM-626. White Metal. About Uncirculated.35.6 mm. Neatly pierced for suspension. Lustrous light silver gray with three small pesting spots. Pleasing otherwise with a few light hairlines. An association piece acquired for its Hero of Freedom reverse that was clearly inspired by the Washington Hero of Freedom medals struck just a few years prior. While Washington was recognized as a Hero of American freedom from regal authority, William Wilberforce was a prominent British abolitionist and thus a hero of a different sort of freedom. He led the arguments in the English Parliament that led to the abolition of the Slave Trade by Royal assent on May 1, 1807. In a closely contested election just one month later, Wilberforce was re-elected as a Member of Parliament for a sixth time. In 1780, he had been elected to this representative body at the age of 21, the youngest allowable.From the John M. Pack Collection. Earlier ex Stacks Bowers Galleries, directly, November 2016.
