"1783" (post-1808) Benjamin Franklin / Peace of 1783 Medal. Betts-621, Julian CM-7, Greenslet GM-81. Bronze. MS-64 (PCGS).
40.2 mm. 569.7 grains. An outstanding example of this scarce medal with rich mahogany brown patina that is remarkably consistent. A few minor anomalies on the reverse are related to difficulties the mint had with bronzing the medals of Joseph Sansom's series, but here the surfaces are about as nice as ever seen for the issue. An obverse impact has grazed two of the highest points of Franklin's attire, along with one hair curl, breaking the patina slightly. Conveniently hidden in the design features, these minor imperfections must be looked for. The overall aesthetic is quite nice overall. This is a fairly scarce medal, with only five different examples in our extensive online auction archives. Though both dies were part of Joseph Sansom's History of the American Revolution series struck at the U.S. Mint between 1805 and 1808, and engraved by John Reich, this issue is a muling and was not intended as part of the series. The obverse was intended to be paired with the American Beaver reverse, while the Peace of 1783 reverse was originally paired with a George Washington obverse die. Fine examples of both issues are found elsewhere in the present sale. As for this, it would be hard to argue that we have handled a nicer example in more than a decade, if ever. The three we sold in the last decade, when certification began to become more typical for medals like this, were graded raw Mint State (November 2015), NGC AU-58 (March 2021), and PCGS MS-61 (November 2024, at $3.840). This piece neatly outpaces those and all the rest we've offered in the last 25 years, including both Ford specimens and the ex. Dreyfuss (1986) specimen we sold in the May 2001 LaRiviere III sale. In short, this would be a very difficult piece to upgrade. Most advanced attempts at completing the Sansom series lack this one entirely.
From the Richard August Collection.

Estimate: $5000