1720 John Law From Riches to Ruin medal. Betts-128. Silver. MS-63 (PCGS).

40.6 mm. 350.1 grains. A spectacularly attractive example of this rare John Law medal, perhaps the most visually impressive medal of the entire series. Lustrous and lightly reflective medium gray surfaces show choice light blue toning tinged with gold, and hints of other shades in protected areas. Crisp and choice on both sides, profoundly detailed and perfectly attractive. Only the most trivial marks are seen, but the surfaces are fresh and original. The depiction of a treasure chest full of coins, and bank bills being studied under a magnifying glass, make this piece an instant classic. The reverse types of ruined investors hanging, scrambling, and throwing themselves into a river are among the most fascinating in the entire Betts series as well. It's no wonder collectors enjoy this rarity so much. This example brought $13,800 in the Ford sale of 2006; Adams' was not quite as pretty and brought $7,637 in 2014. John Law medals are scarce as a class, and the story of how Law's cockamamie economic concepts relate to the expansion of France's territory in the New World is a singular vignette in a series full of them.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from the Virgil M. Brand Collection, Part 10, Sotheby's, October 24, 1985, lot 505; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIII, January 2006, lot 605.