1786 Benjamin Franklin Natus Boston Medal. Original Dies. Paris Mint. By Augustin Dupre. Adams Bentley 14, Betts-620, Greenslet GM-33. Copper. About Uncirculated. 46 mm, 3.9 mm to 5.0 mm thick. 664.62 grains. Well detailed with dominant toning in rich medium copper, this is a handsome example of a perennially popular Franklin type. Glints of olive-brown and rose-gray are more extensive on the reverse. A minor edge nick just past 6 oclock on the obverse is hardly worth mentioning, and otherwise we note only a few wispy handling marks on the reverse, the obverse with a couple of small toning spots. Blushes of faded pink color are evident in the protected areas around a few of the letters on the reverse.<p>The exact circumstances that led up to Augustin Dupre creating a medal to honor Benjamin Franklin are unclear. There is little paper trail emanating from either of these gentleman, artist or subject, to indicate that a special anniversary or incident was being celebrated. Rather, this seems to be what has long been termed a "personal medal," that is, a medal to honor a figure whose character was admired by the artist who created it.<p>Sketches in the collections of the American Philosophical Society and Boston Public Library, as well as three retained in the Dupre estate, show the evolution of Dupres design concept for the reverse of this medal. Several drawings depict a fully grown Hercules - a play on the infant Hercules who represents America on the Libertas Americana medal - trampling two figures, one of whom wears a crown and holds a broken scepter. Eventually Dupre came upon versions of the Winged Genius design that were close to the adopted motif. The legend ERIPUIT COELO FULMEN SCEPTRUMQUE TYRANNIS, commonly translated as "He snatched lightning from the heavens and the scepter from tyrants," is typically attributed to Turgot, the French politician and economist. It first appeared on a print of Franklin dated 1778, and various versions of the phrase floated around France thereafter. The legend is found on one of Ninis large size Franklin portraits in terracotta, dated 1779, and its often found hand-inscribed on the back of the smaller and more commonplace 1777 Nini Franklin portraits as well.<p>Franklin said little about this medal, which may suggest that he heard little about it - the Betts-619 from original dies is rare enough today to suggest that very few of them were struck during Franklins lifetime. Indeed, by the time Franklin left his French home at Passy for good on July 12, 1785, Dupres celebratory medal was probably still a fairly well kept secret. His friend E.A. Gibelin, who helped design the reverse of the Libertas Americana medal, wrote him on February 7, 1785, on various topics and noted, "M. Dupre le graveur men a montre une avec linscription eripuit coelo fulmen etc." or, "Mr. Dupre the engraver showed me one with the inscription eripuit coelo fulmen etc." No other mention of this medal appears in Franklins papers, save a handbill advertising the Comte dEstaings 1790 work entitled "Appercu Hazarde Sur LExportation Dans Les Colonies," which was dedicated to Franklin and illustrated the Winged Genius medal on its title page.<p>As beautiful as Dupres first effort was, it was short lived and has proved a major rarity today - we are honored to be offering an example in the preceding lot. The reason the second medal, Betts-620, supplanted the first is clear from studying the medals: the initial reverse failed and was, unfortunately, replaced with a far less imaginative one. This second type was all that was available when Jefferson built the small collection to present to President George Washington, now conserved at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Sometime after Franklins death, the first reverse design was brought back again with a new copy die; as popular as Franklin was in life, he became perhaps more so in death. The original obverse die and the original replacement die (with wreath) also lived on for generations of restrikes. After 1842, these restrikes were marked on the edge with Paris Mint privy marks. They remain accessible enough to suggest that they were popular sellers throughout the 19th century in France and abroad.
