(ca. 1900) Daughters of the Society of the Cincinnati Eagle Badge. Bishop and Elliott-63. Gold and Enamel. Awarded to Brigadier General William F. Irvine. Choice About Uncirculated. 33.5 mm x 31.3 mm. 15.0 grams. Makers identification B.B. & Co. PHILA for Bailey, Banks & Biddle. Back engraved BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM M IRVINE. A very rare insignia, one singled out by Bauman Belden in a 1908 "American Journal of Numismatics" article as "still lacking" in the American Numismatic Society collection. General William Irvine, an Irish-born Pennsylvanian, was later a member of the Continental Congress and the United States House of Representatives. This badge likely belonged to his great-granddaughter, Margaret Irvine Biddle, who was active in the Daughters of the Revolution and the Daughters of the Society of the Cincinnati (as a descendent of William Irvine) until her death in 1925. From the Kessler Collection of Washingtonia.
