1783 AR Medal Betts-608, Peace of Versailles MS(PCGS#596250)

Spring 2023 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

2006

等级

MS63

价格

59,324

详细说明

1783 Peace of Versailles "Libertas Americana" Medal. Betts-608. Silver. MS-63 (PCGS). 45.4 mm. 394.1 grains. Beautifully toned in violet and pastel blue over deeply reflective fields that retain much of their silvery brilliance. Extremely light cabinet friction is visible under a glass, along with light hairlines and some trivial scattered marks, nothing that deserves mention nor anything that would prevent any connoisseur from being enamored with its impressive aesthetic appeal. The rims are square and perfect and the devices are bold and well detailed. Though white metal examples are occasionally encountered, this is a very rare medal in silver, particularly so in nice grade. The enormous Ford cabinet included just one piece, a high grade specimen acquired in 1951, that realized the heady sum of $9,775 at the time; that medal sold for more than $15,000 in a 2013 auction. We know of a few other nice ones, including the LaRiviere specimen and the very nice example that Spink America sold in 1997, as well as a few worn ones like the one in our (Stack's) 2007 Norweb sale, the piece that was sold as part of the Eric P. Newman collection, and a holed and plugged specimen from our Americana sale of September 2009. Why this medal is more often seen worn than choice is unknown, but it definitely makes it unusual in the context of the Betts medals of this era. Often called the "French" Libertas Americana medal, this medal was engraved in Nuremberg, Germany by J.L. Oexlein, whose OE ligature signature is seen near the exergue on the right side of the obverse. It was presumably intended for a European audience following the peace treaty, as the symbols of the European combatants (Great Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands) are seen on shields above the Gorgon shield, symbolizing war, on the reverse. The symbolism of the obverse, depicting Louis XVI gesturing to a free-hat topped pillar that displays a thirteen-striped shield, is a clear reference to America's newfound independence. Provenance: From the Martin Logies Collection. Earlier ex Abner Kreisberg's sale of June 1965, lot 418; Ted Craige estate; John W. Adams; our sale of the John W. Adams Collection, November 2015 Baltimore Auction, lot 23081. 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.