"1781" (post-1839) General Daniel Morgan, Battle of the Cowpens Medal. Dies by Jean-Jacques Barre, after Dupre. Adams-Bentley 10, Betts-593, Julian MI-7. Bronze. MS-65 BN (NGC).
56 mm. Handsome copper-brown patina with a tinge of pale rose evident as the medal rotates under a light. The gently reflective fields support smartly impressed motifs, imparting a hint of contrast. A superb piece with virtually no evidence of handling visible. Satiny and beautiful. Struck from the Barre copy dies prepared in Paris in 1839 from George Washington's personal silver specimen, owned at the time and loaned by Daniel Webster. Though the dies were made in Paris and a few impressions were struck, it is believed that most of these bronze pieces were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Either way, the Daniel Morgan at Cowpens medal is a favorite among the Comitia Americana medals. The Barre dies were executed with exceptional skill, and the medals they struck are avidly sought as wholly adequate substitutes for the unobtainable originals.