1781 (ca. 1790) William Washington at Cowpens Roundel. Betts-594, Julian MI-8. Copper, oval. Choice About Uncirculated.

39.9 x 43.5 mm. 403.7 grains. 2.0 - 2.2 mm thick. Chocolate brown, substantially smooth and glossy, heavily scraped and filed on the now-blank reverse. As Michael Hodder wistfully noted in Ford 14, "this was once an original," scraped and filed to produce this oval uniface piece with no legends. The removal of the exergual legend COMITIA AMERICANA is especially deftly done, leaving no trace of lettering, just very subtle filing and polish. This must have been done long enough ago that the color is now even and naturally dark. The existence of other similar pieces (Ford also included a Washington Before Boston reverse rather like this one) suggests that something of a set may have been worked like this, but the edge also tells some of the story: it shows silvery remnants of solder or a similar material, suggesting that these oval productions may have once been mounted into something. Whatever that object was - a tray? a trophy? - it must have been truly impressive. We wonder what happened to the rest of these. A set may have been similar to the cased set George Ewing acquired in Paris for Thomas Jefferson in 1823; it included a Washington Before Boston, a William Washington at Cowpens, a John Eager Howard at Cowpens, and a Benjamin Franklin Natus Boston medal, those being the American medals then available at the Paris Mint.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from the Ted Craige estate, October 4, 1982; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIV, May 2006, lot 217.