1776 LIBERTAS AMERICANA Limited Edition Commemorative Medallion
…
This
is a beautiful Commemorative Medal of the 1776 LIBERTAS AMERICANA
medal. This medal is 40mm (1 9/16 in) diameter and weighing approx.
25.5 grams.
(REPRODUCTION)
SOME HISTORY ON THE ORIGINAL
In
a letter dated March 4, 1782, Benjamin Franklin wrote to the Honorable
Robert Livingston, then the Secretary for Foreign Affairs for the
recently victorious United States. In response to previous
correspondence, Franklin mentioned a side project of his, as quoted in
Joseph Loubat’s The Medallic History of the United States of America:
“This puts me in mind of a medal I have had a mind to strike …
representing the United States by the figure of an infant Hercules in
his cradle, strangling the two serpents; and France by that of Minerva,
sitting by as his nurse, with her spear and helmet, and her robe specked
by a few ‘fleurs-de-lis.'” That design would become the reverse of the
Libertas Americana medal, justly famous for its beauty and one of the
best-known medals among American numismatists.
The
design of the Libertas Americana underwent a number of minor changes
between Franklin’s early description and the medal as rendered by
Augustin Dupre. Dupre was a French medallist whose sterling reputation
was known all across Parisian society, and Franklin, then serving as
Ambassador to France, commissioned the gifted artist. The medal’s
famous symbolism bears repeating here. The obverse has LIBERTAS
AMERICANA (American Liberty) across the top. The center shows a striking
bust of Liberty with flowing hair, Phrygian cap on a pole behind her.
Below, in the exergue, appears the date 4 JUIL. 1776 (4 July 1776),
slightly misspelled from the proper Latin form 4 JULI. 1776. The
signature DUPRE appears at the truncation of the bust. The reverse
center shows the infant Hercules, symbolic of the United States,
strangling two snakes that represent the British armies of Saratoga and
Yorktown. At left, Minerva with the fleurs-de-lis of France on her
shield and a spear in hand, thwarts the attack of a lion representing
Britain. Above the scene is the motto NON SINE DIIS ANIMOSUS INFANS,
from Horace’s ode “Descende coelo,” variously translated “the infant is
not bold without divine aid” (Betts), “the courageous child was aided by
the gods” (Loubat), or similarly. In the exergue below, two dates with a
common month, 17 OCT. 1777 and 19 OCT. 1781, signify the victories at
Saratoga and Yorktown. The signature DUPRE F. appears at the lion’s
feet.
While
Betts dates the medal to 1781, further correspondence from Franklin
clearly places the strikings of the Libertas Americana medals in 1783,
demonstrated by selected quotes from Loubat. As cited in the first
paragraph, the medal was still in planning in 1782, and while Franklin
sent early examples of the medal with a letter dated April 15, 1783, a
brief passage from a March 17 letter of that year notes that strikings
“in hard metal” were not available. Franklin, however, did send a test
piece along with that letter to Sir William Jones, who had supplied
Franklin with the pertinent quote from Horace.
The
Libertas Americana in silver is much rarer than its counterpart in
copper or bronze. In a letter of April 15, 1783 to Livingston, Benjamin
Franklin reveals why: “I enclose one [medal] in silver for the President
of Congress and one in copper for yourself. The impression on copper is
thought to appear best; and you will soon receive a number for the
members.” Franklin continues in this vein, and mentions that a silver
medal had been presented to each minister in the French court. Still,
between the added expense of silver and the perceived aesthetic
superiority of copper, it is little surprise that few examples were
struck in silver, and more than two centuries of attrition have further
limited the supply.”
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_gsrx_vers_859 (GS 7.0.21 (859))
1776 LIBERTAS AMERICANA Limited Edition Commemorative Medallion
$13.19
59
Description