(ca. 1860-1870) Society of the Cincinnati Eagle. Gilt Silver and Enamel. Myers-30, var. About Uncirculated.
44.3 mm x 26.6 mm. 14.78 grams (Eagle only). With original bale, loop, ribbon, and hanger. Most similar to Myers-30, ( The Insignia of the Society of the Cincinnati ), which Myers dates to 1860-1880, but not a precise match, thus an unlisted variety. A rare mid 19th century Society of the Cincinnati Eagle, given to General J. Meredith Read, the Adjutant General of New York during the Civil War and great grandson of George Read, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The silk ribbon is somewhat frayed and split, but is mostly intact, along with its rosette. The eagle itself shows its age well, with just a minor loss of gilding on the wings and minor enamel loss at the white wingtip of left wing on the back of the badge. The front of the badge includes the oval chest medallion reading SOCIETAS CINCINATORUM INSTITUTA A.D. MDCCLXXXIII in gold against a white background surrounding the bright blue and green image of Cincinnatus beside a cannon. On the back of the badge, the central medallion reads OMNIA RELIN QUIT: SEVARE REMPUBLICAM * around the image of three senators presenting a sword to Cincinnatus with his home, infant at the doorway, behind him. This matches closely to the Paris made Myers-30 eagle, also a gilt silver badge measuring 44 mm. The related miniature is most similar to Myers-35, a French-made miniature that Myers dates to ca. 1887. This example is superbly preserved, with its fragile stick pins, chains, and bale intact. It measures 26.5 mm x 14.0 mm. The central medallion shows gold lettering against a blue border, surrounding an all gold center. The legend is rendered VIRT.PREM.SOC.AN on one side, OM.RELINQ.SERV.REM.P on the other. When offered in our February 2015 Americana Sale, both Eagles were displayed in an old wooden glazed frame bearing an engraved silver plaque reading ORDER OF THE CINCINNATI WHICH BELONGED TO GEN. JOHN MEREDETH READ. HIS GREAT UNCLE COMMODORE THOMAS READ HAVING BEEN ONE OF THE FOUNDER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY. The frame, however, is not offered here and not part of the present lot. We offered a matched Eagle with its miniature in our (Stack's) September 2009 Americana Sale, as lot 6223, which brought $10,350. In the same sale, a Myers-41 Eagle (ca. 1870) with its ribbon but no rosette brought $8,913 and a ca. 1867 Myers-24 brought $21,275. In our (Stack's) 2006 Americana Sale, we sold an 1896 Myers-46 Eagle with its large rosette for $29,900. None of those Eagles were provenanced to a person as high profile as General Read, who had a distinguished diplomatic career and was also a published historian. (Total: 2 Eagle badges)
From our Americana Sale of February 2105, lot 88.

Estimate: $4000