UNITED STATES. Boston School Medal. Silver, hexagonal. 16.76 gm. 35 mm. With loop, as made. 1821. Awarded 1839. CITY MEDAL | FOR FEMALES | INSTITUTED BY THE | SCHOOL COMMITTEE | BOSTON | 1821 (the "21" neatly engraved) / MERITED BY | Isabella M Hutchinson (neatly engraved) | FOR | SUPERIOR SCHOLARSHIP | A.D 1839 (the "39" neatly engraved). Sallay C 3 (Rarity "high R6": 13-30 known). Choice Extremely Fine.

Sallay notes that the tradition of Boston School Medals began in 1792 and traces it origin "back to Benjamin Franklin and a time when public education was more an exceptional ideal than a mundane reality. In a July 28, 2005 presentation at the ANA he noted that the Boston School Medals were "established by the will of Benjamin Franklin, who died in 1790." (p. 5)
John Sallay. "The Boston School Medals." The Numismatist. April 1978. pp 677 ff.