1723 Compagnie des Indes Medal. Betts-113, Frossard-1. Silver. AU-50 (PCGS).

31.0 mm. 126.0 grains. Reeded edge. Smooth and attractive antique gray with golden highlights. Lively and original, with picture perfect toning that only years in an old collection can imbue. Well struck and nicely detailed, with no significant post striking flaws. A small natural lamination is noted beneath G of AUGET, but it does not impact the positive aesthetic appeal. Ford had four of these, of which this was the nicest, but his mini hoard (composed of this piece from his remarkable Raymond Estate acquisition, two sourced in Europe, and one acquired from John Adams' duplicates) severely understates how scarce this medal is. LaRiviere's was underappreciated back in 2001, bringing just $650, but it brought $9,400 in 2016 when resold as part of our offering of the John Sallay Collection (just six weeks after Heritage sold a similar one for $540, for those of you keeping score at home). Partrick's brought $3,120 earlier this year. This piece has two primary historical attractions. First, it represents the beginning of the Franco-American jeton series, cataloged as Frossard-1 in Ed. Frossard's monograph on the series. Secondly, it's the first medal to commemorate the company that essentially founded Canada, as represented by the depiction of Mont Real (i.e. Montreal), and later established New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi. Its types are attractively rendered as well.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from the Wayte Raymond estate; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIII, January 2006, lot 829.