LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #444  / 

59

1781 Libertas Americana Medal MS63 Brown NGC.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:20,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1781 Libertas Americana Medal MS63 Brown NGC.
<B>1781 Libertas Americana Medal MS63 Brown NGC. </B></I> Betts-615. Bronze. 47.5 mm per the NGC holder. Weight not specified. A majestic chocolate and olive-brown example of the highly desirable Betts medal is accented by hints of blue and lilac iridescence. Sharply struck at the Paris Mint, showing all of the details that Alexander Dupre engraved. Famous statesman Benjamin Franklin commissioned and distributed the Libertas Americana medal.<BR> Liberty faces left on the obverse with free-flowing locks and a cap supported by a pole over the right shoulder. The legend LIBERTAS AMERICANA (American Liberty) follows the upper border, and the 4 JUIL. 1776 date of independence is in the exergue below. DUPRE appears on the bust truncation. His obverse design clearly inspired Henry Voigt to consider a similar design for the 1793 half cent.<BR> The upper reverse carries the legend NON SINE DIIS ANIMOSUS INFANS (The infant is not bold without divine aid). Minerva defends the infant Hercules from a lion, representing France's defense of America from the British. The dates 17 OCT. 1777 and 19 OCT. 1781 in exergue commemorate victories at Saratoga and Yorktown. The engraver's signature appears above the right end of the exergual line.<BR> The Libertas Americana is widely recognized today, being the most important Betts medal in the American historical series. Production included bronze and silver examples, both numismatically desired in France and America.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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