1779 (1789) John Stewart at Stony Point Medal. Betts-567. Bronze, 45.8 mm. MS-62 (PCGS).

669.9 grains. Plain concave edge, collar marks at 10 o'clock over E of STEWART and just left of 6 o'clock. Whatever litany of excited superlatives we offer in an attempt to describe this medal's rarity, desirability, and importance boil down to one fact: only one collector can ever be the first to complete a set of Comitia Americana medals. Even George Washington and Daniel Webster, who owned the special set of silver medals now at the Massachusetts Historical Society, never owned a complete set, having had no opportunity to own a Henry Lee medal. In the entire time since these medals were created, no one has ever had all of them in one collection. There is no other collectible John Stewart medal but this one, and this one has sold but once, in a London sale in 1981 where it was quietly acquired by Mr. Margolis. It has never sold in an American auction. While an obverse-only trial piece has been owned by John Ford and John Adams (and another was privately held until its 1991 donation to the Smithsonian), this is the only complete John Stewart medal in private hands. And whoever acquires it from the Margolis Collection, where it has been for more than four decades, will be able to finish a task that Mr. Margolis never did: acquiring a complete set of Comitia Americana medals. In the case of a medal like this, its state of preservation would matter relatively little if it was terrible. Fortunately, the only collectible John Stewart medal happens to be absolutely beautiful. The surfaces are lustrous and lightly reflective olive brown, a bit golden in areas with some hints of rose in the upper reverse field. Neither side shows a mark or flaw of any consequence, just a little bit of spotting in the obverse fields and exergue. This piece appears to have been struck just once, an insufficient blow that left significant softness at the head of the standing Indian, her shield, her left (viewer's right) foot and Stewart's right leg. A number of very small lintmarks are seen in the reverse exergue, showing the care taken in polishing the dies before striking this very special medal. The eye appeal remains superb, and were this a common medal, it would be a very desirable one. Adams and Bentley class this as one of their Group IV medals, completed in 1789 in the same tranche as Anthony Wayne (also by Nicolas-Marie Gatteaux) and Dupre's Daniel Morgan medal. These medals were shepherded through the process in Paris by Thomas Jefferson, who then hand carried the finished medals home to the United States upon his departure. This medal would have been one of them. Procurement of the John Stewart medal, much like its design, echoes that of the Anthony Wayne medal. After Franklin's cataclysmically bad idea of offering Wayne and Stewart re-engraved knock-offs of the De Fleury medal, Thomas Jefferson righted the ship in 1789, overseeing Gatteaux's and Dupre's work carefully. Stewart's medal was designed to be smaller than Wayne's medal, befitting his rank as Major. It is the same size as the medals for Lt. Col. De Fleury, Lt. Col. William Washington, and Lt. Col. John Eager Howard. By the time of the medal's creation, Stewart had been commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel of the Maryland Line. Hand-carried home by Thomas Jefferson along with Washington's set of Comitia Americana medals, Washington's gold medal for the evacuation of Boston, Wayne's gold medal, and the three medals for Cowpens, Stewart's silver medal was never seen by its intended recipient. Lt. Col. Stewart died on March 26, 1783, in Charleston, South Carolina after being thrown from his horse and breaking his neck. Having survived a heroic charge at the head of an infantry column the night of the taking of Stony Point, Stewart was felled by an unruly steed. Picking up his pen on a Thursday morning, President George Washington wrote not to this medal's recipient, but to his father, Steven Stewart. New York, March 25, 1790 Sir, You will receive with this a medal struck by order of the late Congress in commemoration of the much approved conduct of your Son (the late Colo. John Stewart) in the assault of Stoney Point-and was to have been presented to him as a mark of the high sense which his Country entertained of his services on that occasion. This Medal was put into my hands by Mr Jefferson, and it is with singular pleasure that I now transmit it to you, as it must afford some pleasing consolation, when reflecting upon the loss of a worthy Son. I am, Sir, With very great esteem, Your Most Obdt. Servt. George Washington There are seven total impressions of this medal extant. In silver: 1. Massachusetts Historical Society, George Washington's own specimen. 2.Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna As white metal cliches (all obverse only): 1. Massachusetts Historical Society 2. Smithsonian Institution (ex Wood 1884, Wood 1894, NN40, Stack's ALTO II in 1991) 3.Ford XIV:202 - Adams:2028 (Stack's Bowers, November 2019). In bronze: 1. The present medal, from Spink's London sale of November 1981, lot 964. 2. New-York Historical Society, a little known specimen published by Bob Fagaly and Tony Lopez in The MCA Advisory, June 2019. The original awarded medal, struck in silver and presented to John Stewart's father in 1790 by President Washington, was last seen in family hands as late as 1913. It is since untraced. The Margolis Collection of Comitia Americana medals is one of the finest ever assembled in any era. Despite the presence of particularly choice examples of outstanding rarities, there remains no question as to the single starring highlight of this cabinet: the only confirmed John Stewart medal in private hands. It has been whispered about for decades. It had been the subject of pursuit during Mr. Margolis' lifetime and out-loud pondering since. It will sell as part of the Margolis Collection just once and then a new provenance will join his. That moment of transfer may represent the most significant moment in the history of America's greatest medallic series since Thomas Jefferson landed home from Paris in 1789.

From the Richard Margolis Collection. Earlier from Spink's (London) sale of November 1981, lot 964.

Estimate: $250000