"1781" (ca. 1789) Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard, Battle of the Cowpens Medal. Original. Paris Mint. By Pierre Simon DuVivier. Betts-595, Adams-Bentley 12. Silver. MS-62 (PCGS).
45.9 mm. 800.3 grains. Plain concave edge. Die state as Adams (SBG 11-2019):2072, George Washington's own specimen in the Washington-Webster set of Comitia Americana medals at the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the specimen awarded to Howard himself at the Massachusetts Historical Society. An extraordinary rarity and a medal of paramount importance. John W. Adams and Anne Bentley counted six silver originals in their book Comitia Americana. This included the two previously mentioned specimens impounded at MHS and MdHS, the Ford specimen, the Adams:2072 specimen, and the Dreyfuss (Bowers and Merena, April 1986) specimen; it also included a duplicate owned by Adams that turned out to be a cast. The Richard August specimen was undocumented and apparently unknown to the broader community, until now. Its surfaces are resplendent in rich blue toning, enriched with violet over medium gray surfaces. The devices are perfectly defined on both sides, and both sides are lustrous and reflective, especially the reverse. This piece was undoubtedly lightly polished when it was a new or nearly new object, and some modest hairlines are seen on both sides, but they do not destroy the integrity of the surface nor cause harm to the excellent visual appeal. A bit of old rouge remains within letters here and there. A few identifying marks are seen, including a dig under EG of EGAR in the lower left obverse field, a tiny nick in the step-up inner rim above AE of PRAEFECTO, and a trivial scratch under ACIEM on the reverse. A minuscule rim nick is noted right of 6:00 at the base of the reverse. Few silver Comitia Americana originals are gems, as they were mostly distributed to either recipients (and thus polished proudly) or European museums or aristocratic cabinets. This is far finer than most, and it's prettier than most but a very impressive margin. There appears to be only four of these in private hands. We have previously sold all of them but the one offered presently: Dreyfuss in 1986, Ford in 2006 and 2009, and Adams in 2019. The price of the last of these, which realized $90,000 before the dramatic upswing in the prices of top-tier American historical medals, is useful, but considering two different bronze examples of the similarly rare original Daniel Morgan medal at Cowpens have realized $192,000 and $264,000, the market value of a vanishingly rare silver Comitia Americana may be ready for a recalibration. The Battle of Cowpens has taken on a nearly mythical status in the military history of the American Revolution. Fought in the middle of nowhere, the battle's name means what it seems to mean: it was literally fought in a cow pasture. In the winter of 1780-81, Daniel Morgan invited a force of British regulars under Col. Banastre Tarleton to follow him through Carolinas in a dramatic cat and mouse game, and the Brits fell into the trap he set just for them. Morgan chose the place he would permit Tarleton to meet his men: at the Cowpens, a pasture near the North Carolina state line close to modern Spartanburg. Morgan, known for his team of crack riflemen, decided to capitalize upon the British stereotype that American militiamen would quickly retreat. He ordered his militia to do just that, then move to the rear, reform, and wait for Continental regulars to break through the British line. Holding the rear high ground, his plan worked like a charm, finished off by an infantry line held together by Col. John Eager Howard's leadership and a cavalry charge led by Col. William Washington as the denouement. Morgan described his defeat of Tarleton as "a devil of a whipping." Congress agreed, and selected him to receive a gold medal, while both Howard and Washington were awarded silver medals. Only Cowpens and the 1779 reduction of Stony Point were recognized with three medals. After the victory at Cowpens, Greene and Morgan reunited and moved north, meeting Cornwallis at Guilford Court House in March 1781. With his force badly weakened after the battle, Cornwallis marched for Wilmington, on the North Carolina coast, to regroup. His next, and final, stop would be Yorktown. Col. Howard's medal was voted by Congress on March 9, 1781. It was finally completed, struck from dies by Benjamin DuVivier, before Thomas Jefferson carried Howard's medal back to the United States in the fall of 1789. Jefferson turned Howard's medal over to George Washington for presentation. This one was undoubtedly struck by the time Jefferson departed, though where it's been since it turned up in a safe deposit box in Rhode Island is unknown and, unfortunately, unknowable. This medal is among the most important properties an advanced collector of early American numismatic items can ever hope to obtain. That is both beautiful and a discovery that is new to almost all of us only adds to the excitement of this offering.
From the Richard August Collection.

Estimate: $85000