(1721) Medal Betts-141 White Metal MS(PCGS#922013)

August 2023 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

2013

等级

MS61

价格

148,547

详细说明

Very Rare and Spicy Betts-141 John Law Medal 1721 John Law / From Theory to Practice Medal. Betts-141, Adams-32. White Metal. MS-61 (PCGS). 35 mm. An extremely rare medal, one missing from every notable collection of John Law medals: LaRiviere, Ford, Adams, et al. Adams knew about it exclusively from an example in the Yale University collection (plated in the Adams monograph). This piece is bright and fully lustrous, with brilliant and nearly unoxidized surfaces. Some scattered abrasions and streaks are seen, none serious. Both sides are well centered and well struck, but for a minor area on the outside of the beaded border just below 3 o'clock on the obverse. This is clearly a major rarity in the series, but also one of the more interesting pieces. The 1721 is in chronogram, which is to say, represented in Roman numerals by larger capital letters throughout the legend. Adams' translation of the legends suggests just how spicy this medal is. On the obverse, "in the month of January 1721, when the author, promoter, and executive of the great American mission went to Rome," paired with this on the reverse: "the deflation of the Mississippi Company shares is matched in folly by the king's dream of using the dregs of French society to convert the American Indians to Christianity." That's rich, and it's entirely unique in sentiment in the world of Law medals specifically or Betts medals generally. It's no wonder this thing is so rare. We trace exactly zero appearances of other specimens of this medal. Provenance: From the Skyler Liechty Collection. Earlier from Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger Auction 410-411, October 2013, lot 1068. Collector tag with attribution notation included. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.