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首席收藏网 > 数据中心 > Stack's Bowers and Ponterio > SBP2021年8月#6-代用币和纪念章

Lot:5012 1784年本杰明-富兰克林天才勋章 NGC MS 63 1784 Benjamin Franklin Winged Genius Medal

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世界钱币>纪念章

USD 12000

SBP2021年8月#6-代用币和纪念章

2021-08-20 00:00:00

2021-08-20 03:00:00

NGC MS63

USD 48000

SBP

成交

1784 Benjamin Franklin Winged Genius Medal. Original Dies. Paris Mint. By Augustin Dupre. Adams-Bentley 14, Betts-619, Greenslet GM-35. Bronze. MS-63 BN (NGC). 46 mm. Plain Edge. An extremely rare entry among post-Revolutionary War Betts medals, a classic in the series. Richly original surfaces are toned in a blend of golden-brown, copper-rose and olive shades. The fields are faintly semi-reflective, direct lighting also calling forth subtle undertones of iridescent champagne-pink and powder blue. The strike is razor sharp throughout the design, the surfaces exceptionally well preserved with only a few trivial carbon flecks scattered about and minor contact to Franklins cheek, none of which features are distracting in hand.<p>Accomplished by Dupre in thoughtful form, this type depicts a motif that goes along with the legend, from Turgot, translating as "He snatched lightning from the heavens and the scepter from tyrants." It ranks high on most Betts connoisseurs want lists, particularly for its adoptive place into the Comitia Americana series, via its connection to Franklin and Dupre. Even so, the type has always been something of a mystery to collectors, the different die pairings and striking periods causing some confusion. The first medals struck with the Natus Boston obverse type had for their reverse the standing Genius type, as here. Soon after this combination was first mounted in the press the reverse quickly developed a break in its center which must have proved fatal to the die. In tandem, the obverse became very rusty quite quickly. The broken reverse was replaced by a new one, also signed DUPRE, with an oak wreath and inscription as its type (Betts-620). This reverse, married to the obverse in the latters rusty state, eventually broke apart sometime before 1845 to 1860. It was replaced by two dies, one a close copy of itself and the other a copy of the earlier Genius type. Both of these reverse dies appear to have been in the press 1845 to 1860. Finally, sometime before 1880, the original obverse was sent to the repair shop, its rusty fields were ground down and the engravers name repunched, and the newly refinished die was married to the replacement Genius type die.<p>Struck from the original reverse die, the present example clearly shows the aforementioned central break between Genius legs. Another feature differentiating this die from its replacement is the first letter S in SCULPSIT, which is the same size as, and level with the adjacent C. Close inspection with a loupe reveals another, more minor break bisecting Genius lower abdomen, at the top of the legs, as well as traces of die erosion in the right field. The obverse shows considerable evidence of rust, as above, the die state suggesting that this piece was among the last originals produced.<p>Dozens (hundreds?) of times rarer than Betts-620, John Adams recorded only two original plain edge specimens of Betts-619 in bronze. The Ford Collection, among which duplicates and triplicates were the rule, included just one. That piece, though it netted just $2,760 in Ford XIV, brought a far more apt $15,275 in our August 2012 ANA sale as part of the Dorchester Heights Collection. Despite the Adams census, we are aware of two additional examples: a specimen that realized $11,750 in our August 2013 Chicago ANA Auction, and the present example. As the Ford specimen has a couple of sizeable spots on the reverse and the August 2013 ANA specimen has a few light scratches in the upper right reverse field, the example offered here is finer than both. An exciting offering for the specialist, this underappreciated rarity stands tall historically and was struck in Paris while the elderly Franklin was the most beloved figure in town.

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