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首席收藏网 > 数据中心 > Stack's Bowers and Ponterio > SBP2019年11月巴尔地摩#3-John Adams集藏

Lot:2053 1781摩根奖章 Daniel Morgan at Cowpens medal 极美

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USD 100000

SBP2019年11月巴尔地摩#3-John Adams集藏

2019-11-15 05:00:00

2019-11-15 06:00:00

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USD 114000

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1781 Daniel Morgan at Cowpens medal. Betts-593. Silver. Original. Paris Mint. 56.1 mm, 1211.8 grains. 4.6 - 4.8 mm thick. Choice Extremely Fine.Plain concave edge. A triumph of medallic art and perhaps Dupres greatest effort of the era on behalf of the newborn United States, struck on a substantial and weighty planchet of noble metal. Deep antique silver gray with pastel blue and deeper navy tones around the devices and close to the rims. The devices stand out in bold relief from the reflective fields, double struck to fully impress the details. Some vestiges of the double striking may still be seen around the obverse legends. The fields show evidence of ancient polishing, including some brightness and hairlines that have become dulled over a dozen or more decades, along with some hints of jewelers rouge that remain trapped between Morgans head and his laurel and above the first letter E of EXERCITUS. A tiny batch of marks is noted below that same letter, and a rim nick is present just below 3:00 on the obverse. The visual appeal is little short of majestic.<p>The die chip in the reverse exergue, below M of the date and above IN of INV in Dupres signature, serves as the principal means of differentiating between these original dies and the 1839 dies produced by the copyist Barre. Other tinier flaws are also noted, including one right of the pointed tip of the finial atop the flag at the left side of the reverse and a tiny spalling pit right of the top right serif of X in VINDEX that serves to turn the period after that word into the bottom half of a colon. The errant graver lines between VINDEX and the flag below also serve as distinguishing characteristics. The die state appears identical to Washingtons own medal at the Massachusetts Historical Society, with all flaws essentially the same shape and size. There is every reason to believe this Morgan, along the others struck from these dies, was struck in 1789 or very soon thereafter. As Adams and Bentley note, a tiny raised triangular flaw is noted on the reverse rim at roughly 2:30, near the final fold in the swallow tailed flag at right. The two original bronzes in this collection both show the flaw, in slightly different shapes; one appears smaller (thus, one would presume, earlier) than seen here while the other appears larger, but these appearances could be the byproduct of striking characteristics as much as die state. It is challenging to surmise much from them.<p>Any original Morgan at Cowpens medal is of the highest rarity, even those struck in bronze. For whatever reason, these dies were never employed to produce restrikes at Paris like the dies for George Washington, Jones, Howard, and William Washington, nor were they carried to the Philadelphia Mint like the dies for Horatio Gates medal. Instead, like Dupres dies for the Nathanael Greene medal, a small run was made at Paris roughly contemporary to the production of the original gold medal and the dies were never used again. The Adams-Bentley census found three silver originals: the MHS piece, the one in Viennas Kunsthistoriches Museum, and this one, the sole survivor in private hands. Among the seven original bronzes they listed, only three were privately held. The second of the bronzes in this collection appears to be unlisted in the Adams census, leaving a total collectible population from Dupres original dies of just six pieces, of which this is the only silver strike that has survived outside of an institution.<p>There is a handful of silver Morgan at Cowpens medals that have been described in auction catalogs over the years: most, or even all, appear to be the later restrikes coined from the copy dies produced in 1839. Hunter:232 was described as a restrike in 1920. Bushnell:1617 was called "a beautiful medal" by the young Chapmans, 38 years before S.H. Chapman let his earned expertise show in the Hunter catalog; the Bushnell specimen was almost certainly a high grade restrike. Similarly, Wilson:810 was called "Proof," which essentially assures us Wayte Raymond was describing one of the restrikes. (Perhaps related: the silver restrike Morgan in Ford XIV:211, described as "Gem Uncirculated, fully prooflike" was from the Wayte Raymond estate.) The specimen in Barney Bluestones 92nd sale (April 1946) described as "Unc." and "nearly 4 oz." was certainly a restrike as well. The only early appearance that seems to have some shot at being an original is the offering in John W. Haseltines April 1875 sale, lot 614. Sold under the heading "United States and Foreign Silver Medals," the lot was described as "very fine, very rare." Our consignor cites a listing for a silver Daniel Morgan at Cowpens medal in the London Sothebys sale of May 21, 1969, lot 223. That piece is almost certainly the one offered here. (John J. Ford Jr. acquired an early American related medal from that sale via Spink and Son. Lucien LaRiviere acquired this piece from Spink and Son during the same era.) One wonders if this piece ended up with LaRiviere rather than Ford because Ford figured he already had one (even though his silver Morgan was a restrike from copy dies, not an original) or because he thought the price was too dear.<p>For those whose focus is American numismatics, Augustin Dupre is most famous for the Libertas Americana medal. He created other Comitia Americana medals (John Paul Jones and Nathanael Greene), as well as two beloved portrait medals of Franklin that share a common obverse. All are beautiful, and each shows a different facet of Dupres extraordinary talent and skill. But none are so successful as compositions as this. The obverse design is closely related to Dupres 1789 Au Cultivateur Laborieux agricultural prize medal, though whether that medal was based upon this design or vice versa is unclear. The chaotic, dynamic reverse design is not only the class of the Comitia Americana series, magnitudes more impressive than Gatteauxs and DuViviers battle scenes, but it inspired Moritz Fursts superb work on medals to mark Isaac Shelbys efforts at the Battle of the Thames (1813), Gen. James Miller at Niagara (1814), and Gen. Alexander Macomb at Plattsburgh (1814). The Shelby medal, in particular, borrows heavily from Dupres Morgan design, matching his painstaking detail in a manner that would only be exceeded by Charles Cushing Wrights majestic efforts during the Mexican-American War.<p>When this medal brought $80,500 when it last sold in May 2001, it shattered a decades old record for the highest price realized by an American historical medal - $51,000 - formerly held by Anthony Waynes own gold Comitia Americana medal, sold by Sotheby Parke-Bernet in 1978. As a contrast, in May 1999, just two years before this medal created a new price structure for rare American medals, Harry Basss gem silver Libertas Americana medal realized $19,550 (now the price of a mediocre Mint State bronze specimen of the same medal) and his exceptional silver De Fleury medal realized $27,600. The record this medal set did not stand long. Before 2001 had ended, a Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace medal had crossed the six-figure mark, netting $115,000 in November 2001. Five years later, in November 2006, Zachary Taylors Congressional gold medal for the Battle of Buena Vista brought $460,000. Arguably, the Taylor medal record as most valuable American medal ever sold still holds, as other medals that have realized higher sums (like James Watsons Nobel prize and Jesse Owens Olympic gold medal) are not of American manufacture despite their American relevance. Of course, at this point, dozens of medals have brought prices that surpass the $80,500 this medal brought in 2001. Not counting the 1936 Nobel Peace Prize we sold in 2014 for $1,116,250, this firm has sold no fewer than 46 medals for more than $80,000 (not counting all of the 1776 Continental "dollars" that could probably now be added to the list). Every one of those sales has happened since this medal first broke that barrier.<p><strong>The Battle of Cowpens</strong><p><strong>The Action:</strong><p>The day after Christmas 1779, Sir Henry Clinton and General Charles Cornwallis left British-occupied New York with more than 8,000 men. Their destination was Charleston, South Carolina, and upon their arrival the focus of the Revolutionary War became the struggle to win the hearts, minds, and battlefields of the Carolinas. Clinton and Cornwallis laid siege to Charleston beginning in April 1780, and the following month they controlled the city. Their army made its way to the middle of South Carolina and encamped near the town of Camden, where Horatio Gates, the newly appointed commander of the Southern Department, encountered Cornwallis force in August 1780. Gates was soundly defeated, his force decimated, his reputation essentially destroyed. Cornwallis and his forces, including reviled Banastre Tarleton, captured the tiny hamlet of Charlotte soon thereafter, then made their way back to winter camp in central South Carolina, in the town of Winnsborough.

Following Gates relief from command, General George Washington dispatched a member of his "military family" to the Southern Department: Nathanael Greene. Greenes strategy revolved not around direct large-scale confrontation, but fleeting contact and costly chases, meant to expose the British and their Loyalist partisans to guerrilla attacks and keep their divided forces far from supply lines. The October 1780 American victory at Kings Mountain, along the North Carolina / South Carolina border, bolstered the Patriot cause in the Upcountry. Greene had made his winter camp in Cheraw, in the eastern Pee Dee region of South Carolina, but a portion of his troops under General Daniel Morgan continued to move through the backcountry. Cornwallis dispatched Tarleton to give chase with a force of just over 1,000 men, mostly British regulars.<p>Morgan chose the place he would permit Tarleton to meet his men: at the Cowpens, a pasture near the North Carolina state line close to modern Spartanburg. Morgan, known for his team of crack riflemen, decided to capitalize upon the British stereotype that American militiamen would quickly retreat. He ordered his militia to do just that, then move to the rear, reform, and wait for Continental regulars to break through the British line.<p>Holding the rear high ground, his plan worked like a charm, finished off by an infantry line held together by Col. John Eager Howards leadership and a cavalry charge led by Col. William Washington as the denouement. Morgan described his defeat of Tarleton as "a devil of a whipping." Congress agreed, and selected him to receive a gold medal, while both Howard and Washington were awarded silver medals. Only Cowpens and the 1779 reduction of Stony Point were recognized with three medals. <p>After the victory at Cowpens, Greene and Morgan reunited and moved north, meeting Cornwallis at Guilford Court House in March 1781. With his force badly weakened after the battle, Cornwallis marched for Wilmington, on the North Carolina coast, to regroup. His next, and final, stop would be Yorktown.<p>

The United States in Congress assembled, considering it as a tribute due to distinguished merit to give a public approbation of the conduct of Brigadier General Morgan, and of the officers and men under his command, on the 17th day of January last; when with eighty cavalry, and two hundred and thirty-seven infantry of the troops of the United States, and five hundred and fifty-three militia from the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, he obtained a complete and important victory over a select and well appointed detachment of more than eleven hundred British troops, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton; do therefore resolve,</em><p><em>That the thanks of the United States in Congress assembled, be given to Brigadier General Morgan, and the officers and men under his command, for their fortitude and good conduct, displayed in the action at the Cowpens, in the State of South Carolina, on the 17th of January last:</em><p><em>That a Medal of Gold be presented to Brigr Genl Morgan representing on one side the action aforesaid particularising his numbers, the numbers of the enemy, the numbers of killed, wounded and prisoners and his trophies with the inscription patria virtusis [undecipherable], and on the other side his bust with his name and this inscription: Ipse agmen the figure of the General on horseback leading on his troops in pursuit of the flying enemy, with this motto in the Exergue Fortus Fortuna Juvat Virtus Unita Valet.

That a medal of gold be presented to Brigadier General Morgan, and a medal of silver to Lieutenant Colonel W. Washington, of the cavalry, and one of silver to Lieutenant Colonel Howard, of the infantry of the United States; severally with emblems and mottos descriptive of the conduct of those officers respectively on that memorable day:

That a sword be presented to Colonel Pickens, of the militia, in testimony of his spirited decisive and magnanimous conduct in the action before mentioned:</em><p><em>Resolved, that a sword be presented to Lieutenant Colonel Howard of the infantry, and one also to Lieutenant Colonel Washington of Recommitted. the Cavalry of the federal army each, that their names may be transmitted honourably to posterity renowned for public virtue and as testimonies of the high sense entertained by Congress of their martial accomplishments.</em><p><em>That Major Edward Giles, aid-de-camp of Brigadier General Morgan, have the brevet commission of a major; and that Baron de Glasbeech, who served with Brigadier General Morgan as a volunteer, have the brevet commission of captain in the army of the United States; in consideration of their merit and services.</em><p><em>Ordered, That the commanding officer in the southern department, communicate these resolutions in general orders.</em><p><em>- Continental Congress Resolution of March 9, 1781</em><p><strong>Daniel Morgan at Cowpens

When Benjamin Franklin left Paris having only completed the medal for De Fleury, it fell to Robert Morris to write to Franklins replacement, David Humphreys, in June 1784 with a list of medals for which he would be responsible. A little less than a year later, Humphreys wrote back to Congress with an update. "Some time after my arrival here," Humphreys wrote in March 1785, "I received the enclosed letter from [Robert Morris], accompanied with a list of medals, etc., and a description of those intended for General Morgan and Colonels Washington and Howard." And then the excuses began. "Upon the receipt of these documents I did not delay to make the proper inquiries from the characters who were the best skilled in the subjects of this nature … Being informed at the same time that the description of the medals for General Morgan, etc., was not in the style and manner such medals were usually executed, I took the liberty of suspending the execution of them, until I could learn whether it is the pleasure of Congress to have them performed exactly in the manner prescribed."<p>Humphreys seems to have back-burnered Morgan and the other Cowpens medals rather permanently after that. He finished the medals for Horatio Gates and Nathanael Greene before departing Paris. The rest fell to Humphreys replacement, Thomas Jefferson.<p>When Thomas Jefferson took the baton from David Humphreys, all three of the Cowpens medals were handed off, along with General Washingtons gold medal, without so much as an agreement with an engraver. Humphreys wrote to Jefferson in April 1786 to let him know that these four medals would be entirely his responsibility "because the designs for them have not been in readiness for execution until the present time. Nor can that for Genl. Morgan be commenced without farther information of the numbers killed, prisoners &c in the action to be perpetuated. These documents I will endeavor to get the Secretary at war to forward immediately."<p>Jefferson pulled a Humphreys. He procrastinated. Augustin Dupre, Paris most esteemed medallic engraver of the era, delivered the finished Nathanael Greene medal to Jefferson on February 13, 1787. It had been nearly a year after Jefferson took on the Comitia Americana project, but precious little had been accomplished in the interval. Following his meeting with Dupre, Jefferson would forget about the project for another full year. Finally, in January 1789, Jefferson picked up his quill and wrote to Dupre: "Mr. Jefferson having received orders concerning medals to be struck would like to talk about them with M. Dupre, if he will please do him the honor to call on him to-morrow morning before eleven oclock." After taking the best part of three years off, Jefferson was suddenly in a rush. It must have thrilled the Frenchman to no end.<p>On February 13, 1789, Jefferson sent Dupre the approved designs and inscriptions for the John Paul Jones and Daniel Morgan medals. Dupre made quick work of the Morgan medal, arguably his masterpiece. He finished it before the Jones medal and Jefferson carried Morgans gold medal home with him in September 1789.<p><strong>The Presentation:</strong><p>Daniel Morgan started to wonder where his medal was sooner than most recipients and began asking questions soon after the war was over. He wrote to one of Virginias delegates to the Continental Congress, John F. Mercer, and to Secretary of War General Benjamin Lincoln, in February 1783.<p><em>The Honorable Congress after the action at Cowpens thought proper to vote me a Medal for my conduct in that affair, and as such an acknowledgement of my countrys approbation could not but be flattering to the mind of a soldier I have made frequent application to get, and have been as frequently disappointed. Gen. Lincoln once informed me that nothing prevented its being sent to me but the low situation of finances, and I should have it as soon as there was money to be had to defray the Expense. Now sir, I not only wish you to expedite the making of it, but that you may also pay some attention to the manner in which it may be done, and with devices properly emblematical of the affair. I have so good an opinion of your taste and general knowledge as to wish to submit the matter entirely to your discretion, the expense cannot be considerable, and I flatter myself the Financier on a proper application would advance a sum sufficient to defray it, especially to gratify the inclinations of a man whose principal aim it has been to obtain his Countrys applause to his conduct.</em><p>Mercer wrote back in April 1783. <p><em>The change in our circumstances which the late pacification has made will now permit the Secretary of War to carry into immediate execution a Resolve of Congress directing him to furnish the medals voted to those whose Distinguished Merit has drawn that mark of applause and gratitude from their Country during the late War. You may depend on my attention to yours, and if I have any talent at Design (which by the way I doubt extremely) it shall be aided by the assistance of those whose imagination I esteem as elegant as correct, and I hope will eventually produce what ought to equal your expectation from the hands you have committed it to, if it does not meet your approbation.

Morgan waited patiently for seven more years. On March 25, 1790, the same day Washington sent medals off to the heroes of Stony Point and Morgans fellow veterans of Cowpens, he finally sent Morgan his own gold medal.<p><em>Sir:</em><p><em>You will receive with this a Medal struck by order of the late Congress in commemoration of your much approved conduct in the battle of Cowpens, and presented to you as a mark of the high sence which your Country entertains of your services on that occasion.</em><p><em>This Medal was put into my hands by Mr. Jefferson, and it is with singular pleasure that I now transmit it to you.</em><p><em>I am Sir, with very great esteem, your most obedt servt,</em><p><em>George Washington</em><p><strong>The Daniel Morgan at Cowpens Medal:</strong><p><strong>Obverse:</strong> The traditional reverse was considered the ob.verse by the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres and by Jefferson himself. Alas, we hew to numismatic tradition. With flags and cannons - the traditional trophies of war - at left, the goddess America in her traditional garb and holding her traditional shield crowns Morgan, at right, with a laurel wreath. Morgan bows slightly, his sword grounded, with the rural scene of battle seen behind him. Beneath the exergue are the words COMITIA AMERICANA. Around the periphery: DANIELI MORGAN DUCI EXERCITUS or "Daniel Morgan, head of the army."

Perhaps the most impressive and evocative battle scene in the realm of American medallic art, at least until the Mexican-American War masterworks of Charles Cushing Wright. Morgan, in the saddle and pointing forward with his sword, leads his soldiers from right to left. The Cowpens flag flies behind him at the front of his troops, who carry their muskets with bayonets fixed. A native ally stabs a fallen British cavalryman in the lower left, while other British troops, one mounted, scramble. A British flag and smoke rise from the left. The legend above VICTORIA LIBERTATIS VINDEX means "Victory is Libertys defender." In the exergue, FVGATIS CAPTIS AVT CAESIS AD COWPENS HOSTIBVS XVII. JAN. MDCCLXXXI means "The enemy chased, captured, or killed at the Battle of Cowpens, January 17, 1781." In the lower exergue, Dupre signs DUPRE INV ET F or "Dupre conceived and made it."

From the John W. Adams Collection. Acquired from Bowers and Merena’s sale of the Lucien M. LaRiviere Collection, Part III, May 2001, lot 1093. Earlier, purchased from Spink and Son, London. Earlier still, almost certainly from Sotheby’s (London), May 21,1969, lot 223.

价格参考 Price Guide