1776 (1783) Libertas Americana Medal. Betts-615. Bronze, 47.3 mm. VF Details--Damage (PCGS).

For such a superb collection, this is a rather humble Libertas Americana medal, but then again, this is Syd's duplicate to the lovely piece in Sale I. Its surfaces are well worn, with the appearance of a pocket piece. The chocolate brown fields are finely granular, suggesting a ground provenance. The horizontal scratches under Liberty appear to date from the time of this medal's excavation, and those in the lower reverse exergue and behind the lion may as well. Despite its grade and flaws, this is a genuinely attractive specimen and one with a character all its own. This is not the only grounder Libertas Americana medal in existence. In fact, for a medal with such an august beginning, there are alarmingly many. One wonders if the large batch of copper examples sent across the Atlantic in 1783 to distribute to members of the Continental Congress ended up providing many of members with their pocket pieces. It seems like the medals distributed in Europe, to aristocrats, academics, and institutions were less likely to end up interred than those, which gives medals like this a more interesting potential story than the typical nice AU that spent centuries in a mahogany drawer.

PCGS# 151815. NGC ID: DRPN.

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From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from McCawley and Grellman's 1995 C4 sale of the John M. Griffee Collection, October 1995, lot 556.