Coin of The Week Archive
1781 Libertas Americana Medal in Bronzed Copper
Famous Libertas Americana Copper Medal
Betts-615, PCGS MS62 Brown
This 1781 Libertas Americana Medal was auctioned by Heritage Auction Galleries on September 9, 2009 for $12,650.00 (including all auction fees). The following is an excerpt from Heritage's website. For a complete description of this pattern coin, please visit Famous Libertas Americana Copper Medal.
The medal was conceived and financed by the great American statesman Benjamin Franklin and executed by the inimitable French master medal stylist Augustin Dupré. Its fame has endured for more than two and a quarter centuries now, and it was recently voted the #1 Greatest Medal of All Time in the reference by Katherine Jaeger and Q. David Bowers. The originals were struck in gold, silver, and bronzed copper. Franklin presented the two gold pieces to King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of France, and unfortunately they are unaccounted for today. One likelihood is that they disappeared during the French Revolution and were melted.
1781 Libertas Americana Medal in Bronzed Copper, Betts-615, MS62 Brown PCGS. This example is readily distinguished by the tiny bright spot visible on the cat's hip. An appealing and minimally abraded example of this now-legendary medallic issue with generally deep brown patina. The Libertas Americana has gained great fame, not only for its association with the American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin in particular, but also for how strongly the portraits on the earliest copper and silver coins of the United States show the influence of the medal's obverse.
Photos of the Famous 1781 Libertas Americana Copper Medal
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Images Courtesy of: Heritage Auction Galleries, Ha.com, Copyright Heritage Auction Galleries. Used with permission.
Detailed Coin Specifications
Composition: Bronzed Copper.
Diameter 46mm.
Obverse: Liberty facing left after Benjamin Franklin's design,
liberty pole and cap behind her head, date July 4, 1776 in exergue.
Reverse: France as Athena protects the infant American
republic from the attack of the British lion with a shield bearing
the French arms.
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