Heritage World Coin Auctions
FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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(1781) Medal Libertas Americana Copper MS61 Brown NGC. CAC. Betts-615, Loubat-14. Conceptualized by Benjamin Franklin and designed by Augustin Dupre, the Libertas Americana Medal was struck in France, yet holds the number one spot in 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens, by Katherine Jaeger and Q. David Bowers. The obverse depicts a head of Liberty beneath the motto LIBERTAS AMERICANA, with the July 4, 1776 date below. The reverse displays Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, defending the infant United States from Britain. The legend, NON SINE DIIS ANIMOSUS INFANS, translates to "Not without the gods is the infant courageous." The two dates in exergue represent the British surrendering at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, and at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.
This beautiful and historical medal is especially meaningful to those with a Revolutionary connection, such as the present cataloger whose five times great grandfather, Christopher Hite, was an ordinary Pennsylvania soldier who survived the winter at Valley Forge, and who witnessed the British surrender at Yorktown. This lovely chestnut-brown example has satin luster and bold design definition, exhibiting blue and violet overtones. Trivial contact marks limit the grade.
(1781) Medal Libertas Americana Copper MS61 Brown NGC. CAC. Betts-615, Loubat-14. Conceptualized by Benjamin Franklin and designed by Augustin Dupre, the Libertas Americana Medal was struck in France, yet holds the number one spot in 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens, by Katherine Jaeger and Q. David Bowers. The obverse depicts a head of Liberty beneath the motto LIBERTAS AMERICANA, with the July 4, 1776 date below. The reverse displays Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, defending the infant United States from Britain. The legend, NON SINE DIIS ANIMOSUS INFANS, translates to "Not without the gods is the infant courageous." The two dates in exergue represent the British surrendering at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, and at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.
This beautiful and historical medal is especially meaningful to those with a Revolutionary connection, such as the present cataloger whose five times great grandfather, Christopher Hite, was an ordinary Pennsylvania soldier who survived the winter at Valley Forge, and who witnessed the British surrender at Yorktown. This lovely chestnut-brown example has satin luster and bold design definition, exhibiting blue and violet overtones. Trivial contact marks limit the grade.