Washingtonia Digital Test-PRO

PART ONE

The Early Medals 1777 to 1857

The Warrior & Sage Medal Photo courtesy of the American Numismatic Association

The Warrior & Sage Medal

T

he first medal to honor the great Washington is something of a mystery. Numismatists have come to call it the Voltaire medal for two reasons. First, the reverse inscription, WASHIN. REUNIT PAR UN RARE ASSEMBLAGE LES TALENS DU GUERRIER & LES VERTUS DU SAGE (Washington unites in a rare combination the talents of the warrior and the virtues of the sage), was taken from Voltaire’s epic poem, La Henriade , first published in 1723. 1 Second, the first notice of its appearance in the London Chronicle on April 16, 1778 directly assigned responsibility for its issue to him: A medal has been lately struck at Paris, by direction of Mr. Voltaire, in honour of Gen. Washington: on one side is the bust of the general, with this inscription, G. Washington, Esq; Commander of the Continental army in America: the reverse is decorated with the emblems of war, and the following inscription: “Washington reunit par un rare assemblage Les talens du Guerrier & les Vertus du sage.” ( London Chronicle on April 16, 1778) An American expatriate in England, Samuel Curwen, recorded the following in his diary on April 20, 1778:

On horseback to Spencecomb, the seat of Mr. Rowe, near Crediton, in company with Mr. and Miss Bretland; passed an agreeable day, with numerous company; this is a week of festivity following Easter Sunday - hospitably lodged and entertained; our host is of the rank called gentleman farmers, or landholders in fee of estates from £100 to £800 sterling per annum. A medal has lately been struck at Paris, by order of Monsieur Voltaire, in honor of General Washington, on one side is the bust of the general, with this inscription: “G. Washington, Esq., commander of the continental army in America.” The reverse is decorated with the emblems of war, and the following: Washington reunit par une rare assemblage les talens du Guerrier et les vertus du Sage. 2

More than likely, Curwen was simply repeating the London Chronicle announcement from several days earlier . His diary wasn’t even published until 1842, but the entry serves as a second contemporary notice of the undated medal, and confirms that it was struck prior to April 16, 1778. It is curious however, that the first notice of a “French” medal struck to the order of Monsieur Voltaire should have appeared in an English newspaper, and not one published in the country where reason dictates such a notice should have originated. In fact, there was no contemporary notice of any kind for this medal in France at all. It is also interesting to observe, that no record of any medal other than this one, “struck by the direction of Mr. Voltaire,” has ever been discovered. Perhaps the medal is misnamed, there being no contemporary evidence beyond the London Chronicle notice, connecting it to Voltaire at all. Voltaire had only been granted release from exile in January 1778. He returned to Paris in February. On April 29th, he and Franklin had their famous and well documented public meeting, and no presentation or mention of a medal of any kind was recorded. A month later, on May 30th Voltaire died. During his brief time in Paris practically every move he made and every word he uttered was reported in some way, and no record of a medal issued by him or any of his contemporaries to honor Washington has ever been found. One final point: at the time this medal was issued, French law prohibited the striking of any medals by any entity other than the Monnaie de Paris. The process was lengthy and well documented, and there is no record of this medal. Neither has it ever appeared in any of their catalogs. On July 19, 1777, Josiah Wedgwood wrote to his business partner, Thomas Bentley, questioning the wisdom of publishing a medal 3 with the head of Washington

The Early Medals: 1777 to 1858 • 3

My objection to striking medals from the Bronze you sent me rather increase. It would be doing no service to the cause of Liberty in general, at least so it appears to me, & might hurt us very much individually. Nay the personage is himself at this time more absolute than any Despot in Europe, how then can he be celebrated, in such circumstances as the Patron of Liberty? — Besides if France should declare herself openly an ally &c &c I am from that moment an enemy to both, & the case being very probable, I would not bring myself into so whimsical a situation as you may easily conceive, by throwing these circumstances together a little in your mind, I might add, that as the two Powers may be said to act really as Allies against us, though for political reasons without the form of a public declaration, the event of this conceal’d warfare may be more fatal to us than an open rupture, as I may, as a subject of the British Empire, declare myself an enemy to all its enemies & their Allies though I may curse most bitterly those who have brought us into the dilemma of calling those our enemies, who were, & might have continued to be, our best friends. 4 The letter clearly shows that a “bronze” of Washington existed almost a year before the notice about the Voltaire medal appeared in the London Chronicle. Despite his reservations , Wedgwood did go forward with his jasperware portrait medallion, which he later acknowledged was copied from the bronze Voltaire medal, the work executed by William Hackwood. 5 It follows, therefore, that the bronze sent by Bentley and mentioned in the letter was in fact the so-called Voltaire medal. It is unknown who actually engraved the dies or ordered the medals, but its English or possibly even Scottish origin would seem to be confirmed by its similarity to three other medals, B. Franklin of Philadelphia (Betts 547), Madame Chavelier De Beaumont d’Èon (Eimer 770), and the Death of David Hume (Eimer 768). While the Franklin piece appears to be dated 1777, it was actually attributed to Wedgwood and Bentley as early as 1775 in a book by Thomas Percival entitled A Father’s Instructions to His Children... 6 In describing the motto on the reverse, Percival leaves no room for doubt that he is describing Betts 547. The Franklin and Voltaire medals have several letter punches in common. The d’Èon medal bears the same cryptic date as the Franklin and was probably struck at the same time. There is also a known example of a Voltaire medal struck over a d’Èon medal, and the portrait on the Death of David Hume medal is nearly identical to the Washington portrait on the so-called Voltaire medal. Hume died on August 25, 1776. Washington was appointed commander-in-chief on June 15, 1775. If the medal was actually struck in early 1777, before Wedgwood wrote the letter quoted above, it is reasonable to conclude that the Washington portrait was copied from the Hume portrait. All of these similarities indicate that the four medals, at the very least, originated in the same shop. The d’Èon and Hume medals are extremely rare, the Franklin slightly less so, with the Voltaire the most common of the group. Franklin left England in April 1775, two months before Washington’s appointment, making it unlikely that he had a hand in issuing any of these medals. Thomas Bentley is the stronger candidate for that distinction. He was an extremely literate man who spoke several languages and who, in his youth, traveled and studied in France. Perhaps he was familiar with Voltaire’s work and saw the appropriateness of this quotation as it applied to Washington. Bentley was based in London, and in the highly publicized lead up to the meeting between Voltaire and Franklin saw an opportunity to bring the medal forward without recrimination. This he did simply by placing a notice in the London Chronicle , that conveniently laid credit for its issue on Voltaire’s doorstep. Given these circumstances, the medal might be more appropriately named The Warrior and Sage Medal. In fact, this is how it was referred to in many early auction catalogs.

4 • Medallic Washington

D’Eon medal - circa 1775

David Hume medal - circa 1776

Franklin medal - circa 1775

d’Èon medal overstrike

Washington portrait medallion by Wedgwood and Bentley

Note the similarity in the letters A and N of franklin and washington

1. In the context of the poem, this quotation is applied to Catinat, a general under French King, Henry IV who was something of a philosopher, warrior. 2. Journal and Letters of the Late Samuel Curwen, Judge of Admiralty, Etc., An American Refugee in England From 1775 to 1784 ... C. S. Francis & Co., New York, 1842. 3 . In his correspondence Wedgwood frequently referred to his jasperware portraits as medals. 4. Letter previously cited in: “Josiah Wedgwood American Sympathizer and Portrait Maker” - R. T. H. Halsey, Scribner’s Magazine December 1907 Vol. 42, pp. 682-698. 5. Ibid 6. See MCA Advisory , Volume 11, June 2008 “Mystery solved? Voltaire, 1777 Franklin, Hume and D’eon Medals” by Tony Lopez.

The Early Medals: 1777 to 1858 • 5

GW-01 The Warrior & Sage Medal circa 1777

Baker-78; Snowden-04; Appleton-03; Raymond-29; LBS-32.1 Shurtleff-41; Fisher-01

ANA

In 1885 Baker noted that just two silver examples were known, one in the collection of William Sumner Appleton, the other in the Imperial Museum at Vienna. Fuld listed four examples in 1999, including one he believed to be unique, struck on a thick planchet (5mm), in the collection of Dr. Irving N. Schuster, (R/F-78A). As of the date of this catalog, 2016, eight silver examples are known. Fuld also listed a silvered bronze example (R/F-78C), also ex-Schuster. The first notice of a white metal example was presented in Mason’s Coin and Stamp Collector’s Magazine, vol. 3, no. 7, July 1869, p. 77. Mason announced that he was in possession of the medal and sought information from readers on what they might know of its origin, but for some reason failed to reveal where or how he obtained it. The following year he sold it as lot 157 of the Fewsmith sale. There is an ugly cast lead example in the Massachusetts Historical Society collection, which could have been the Fewsmith/Mason example. Several other cast examples have been reported since. Obverse: A nude bust representing Washington facing right. Around the bust, G E . WASHINGTON E R . GENERAL OF THE CONTIN L . ARMY IN AMERICA • Reverse: Implements associated with an army including a cannon, drum, trumpet, flags, spears and cannon balls set against a field of rays. WASHIN. REUNIT PAR UN RARE ASSEMBLAGE • LES TALENS DU GUERRIER & LES VERTUS DU SAGE around the whole. Edge: Plain GW Metal Diameter Edge WeightRulau R Notes: 01 mm 1/16 mm grams Fuld Silver 39.91 25 3.08 33.7 78 VR Possibly 8 known - planchet thickness varies Bronze 40.5 25 3.13 22.8 78B R Lead 39.69 25 78D VR Although few, cast lead examples are still copies.

MHS - cast lead

6 • Medallic Washington

GW-02 Général Washington Plaque circa 1777

Shurtleff-35; LBS-02.3

MHS size reduced

Obverse: Bust of Washington in uniform facing left. Général is engraved at left, Washington at right. The bust is in very high relief. Reverse: Blank Edge: Plain GW Metal Diameter Rulau R Notes: 02 mm 1/16 Fuld Bronze 108 68 A206 VR MHS; Metropolitan Museum of Art Very little is known of this portrait plaque, but it is clearly very early and of French origin. L. Bayard Smith believed it to be of French origin circa 1778 to 1781. At the time, he thought it might be unique. Today, it is believed that three or four are in existence. It is a companion to one executed of “Docteur Franklin,” also with engraved legends. All known examples show slight differences in the engraving. Rulau/Fuld describe one example mounted on soapstone and listed as B206 with an overall diameter of 105mm. The central medallion of the example at the Massachusetts Historical Society measures 82mm, while the outer rings are carefully soldered on, extending the diameter to 108mm. Possibly the example described by Rulau/Fuld at 105 mm is a typographical error, or the outer band is absent from that example. An example of the “Docteur Franklin” plaque exists in silver. No example of the “Général Washington” plaque in silver has been noted, but the possibility that one exists would seem logical.

S/B

The Early Medals: 1777 to 1858 • 7

The Washington Pattern Coins of 1785

W

alter Breen described the next three coins on this list as “pattern decads” struck by George Wyon. Decad was a term or denomination put forward by the Continental Congress and was intended for use on copper coins with a value equal to 1/100th of a Spanish dollar. Ultimately, the usage was dropped from the bill, and its application to these mules or patterns seems speculative at best. In this list, they are simply referred to as the Gen. Washington patterns or mules. Baker believed them to be of American origin, and that they presented a portrait “very far from any original and still more uninteresting, the name alone indicating the purpose of the engraver.” Crosby thought they might have been issued as patterns, possibly with a national ambition. He also thought they were issued by the same maker as the 1785 Nova Constellatio 1 , with the Libertas Et Justitia and Immune Columbia obverses, whom he identified simply as Wyon. His source was an unpublished manuscript by Charles Bushnell, titled Bushnell’s Numismatic Notes: Breen later wrote that they were actually struck by George Wyon. Thus, it has been presumed that the mules and later-date issues from these dies were also made by Wyon. Breen and others have speculated that somehow one or two of the dies subsequently traveled to America where they were paired with dies made by Walter Mould, James F. Atlee and John Bailey. How this actually came about is not clear, but Breen has claimed that Walter Mould was a former “pupil” of George Wyon and must have brought them with him when he came to America. The difficulty here is that Mould may have arrived in America as early as 1782 (Siboni, p. 24). In all likelihood, the General Washington mules and the Nova Constellatios, were all struck in America by dies that were actually made in America. In 1783, Gouverneur Morris suggested a rather complex decimal coinage system that would align with most of the coins then circulating in the States. Robert Morris (no relation), Superintendent of Finance for the Continental Congress, worked to establish a mint and employed the services of an expatriate English die engraver named Benjamin Dudley, who made several patterns based on Gouverneur Morris’ plan. On one side of the coin is an all seeing eye with thirteen rays emanating outward surrounded by thirteen stars and the motto NOVA CONSTELLATIO. The other side of the coin has the letters U.S. and the denomination within a wreath, with LIBERTAS JUSTITIA and the date, 1783, around. The coins were proposed in five denominations, only four of which are known today, the Mark (1000 units), the Quint (500 units), the Bit (100 units), an eight-unit coin (no examples known to exist), and a five-unit coin. 2 Today, they are among the rarest and most desirable of all U.S. coinage. 3 A trail of documentation for the creation of these patterns exists in both the Congressional Record and Robert Morris’ personal diary. According to Breen, “After silver bullion for Gouverneur Morris’s proposed federal coinage proved elusive ... Morris traveled to England, and in 1785 apparently ordered coppers from Wyon’s mint in Birmingham” (Breen, p. 117). These would have been the non-denominational Nova Constellatio coins with the Libertas Et Justitia and Immune Columbia obverses. There are several problems with Breen’s conjecture. The first is that both Robert Morris and Gouverneur Morris held a strong conviction that national sovereignty depended upon a government’s ability to coin its own money. Having it done in England would be totally inconsistent with their beliefs. A second problem is that neither of the Morrises traveled to England in late The Nova Constellatios were made in Brimingham, in England, and the dies were cut by Wyon, of that place. Over forty tons were issued from one die alone, and many more from another. They were manufactured by order of a gentleman of New York, who is believed to have been Gouverneur Morris. (Crosby, p. 331).

8 • Medallic Washington

1785 or early 1786. In fact, Gouverneur Morris did not go to England until sometime in late 1789 or early 1790. The last point to be made is that if the problem with striking the coins in America was an inability to obtain the needed “silver bullion,” why did he have them struck in copper? Breen further wrote that documentation would likely never be found as all of Wyon’s records were destroyed by fire sometime prior to 1790. It is curious, however, that Robert Morris, who kept such a careful record of the Nova Constellatio patterns in his personal diary (which fortunately, was not destroyed by fire), should have failed to mention so large a coin purchase from George Wyon. Neither was a remittance from Congress preserved in the record. One final argument against their having been struck in England is that they do not appear listed in any of the contemporaneously published catalogs of coins or tokens made in Birmingham, although several other Washington coins were. Their earliest notice was a brief paragraph in the Thursday, March 9, to Saturday, March 11, 1786 edition of The St. James Chronicle . This same notice also appeared in several other English newspapers on or around March 11: The Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser printed the following “correction,” on March 16, 1786. It is the first and only indication that the Nova Constellatio coins might have been struck in England: A correspondent observes, that the paragraph, which lately appeared in several papers, respecting a copper coinage in America, is not true. The piece spoken of, bearing the inscription “Libertas et Justitia, &c.” was not made in America, nor by the direction of Congress. It was coined at Birmingham, by the order of a merchant of New York. Many tons were struck from this dye, and many from another; and they are now in circulation in America, as counterfeit halfpence are in England Bushnell’s sources were probably two. The first was a brief notice in the Massachusetts Centinel of May 10, 1786: The second source appeared in the New York paper, The Daily Advertiser , on May 26, 1786, and was an almost verbatim reprint of the March 16 Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser notice. Both entries are suspect. The “correction” is offered by an unnamed correspondent, and the second opens with a kind of wishy-washy, legalese, “it is said…”. Neither item mentions who might have struck the coins, simply that they were struck in either Greenwich or Birmingham. Bushnell certainly had no reason to question these notices, and his contribution of the Wyon and Morris names was probably just an educated guess. It is interesting, however, that several months later, on Wednesday, November 1, 1786, the same paper that published the “correction,” offered the following: It is said, that 40 tons of copper, have been coined in half-pence, at Greenwich, in England, for American circulation. Device - on one side, an Eye of Providence, and thirteen stars. The reverse, U.S. Better these than that bane to honesty, paper money. The American Congress have lately made a copper coinage, which is now in general circulation: one side of the halfpenny bears this circular inscription, “Libertas Et Justitia;” round a central cypher U.S. — On the reverse is a sun rising amidst Thirteen Stars circularly inscribed “CONSTELLATIO NOVA!”

The United States of America have lately struck a halfpenny; on one side of which, encircled within a wreath of laurel exceedingly well executed, are letters U.S. in cypher, surrounded with an inscription, Libertas et Justitia, dated 1785. On the reverse, in the center, is a constellation, from which issue thirteen illuminated rays, and between each ray is a small star, expressive of the Thirteen United States; around these rays and the stars, is the following inscription: Nova Constellatio. The new American halfpenny is in weight as three to two of the English coin.

The Early Medals: 1777 to 1858 • 9

All of this is speaks to the probability that the Nova Constellatio coins were produced by Benjamin Dudley in New York, with the financial backing of Robert and Gouverneur Morris. Eric Newman has traced a partnership between the Morrises and William Constable in the establishment of a “House of Commerce at New York” under the name William Constable & Co. Newman has concluded that the coins were struck in England through the offices of the company’s London partner John Rucker. It is possible, however, that the coins were actually struck in New York, and that Rucker merely provided the “correction,” that subsequently appeared in the London Advertiser . Newman has pointed out that company records for the period between late 1784 and 1786 are missing. Could this reflect a desire on the Morrises’ part to keep their involvement quiet, given their public positions? This is not to suggest they had any nefarious intent in making the coins. Small denomination coinage was in short supply, and their coppers were of “good weight.” The dies and letter punches were probably just part of the inventory when Walter Mould and/or James F. Atlee acquired the mint. This could also explain why so many of the early coppers, including the General Washington and Confederatio coins are linked by common letter punches, and the various mules that subsequently appeared. Whether the General Washington/Confederatio and General Washington/U.S. Shield coins were struck as patterns for a proposed coinage or simply as mules is perhaps debatable. That they were made in England seems doubtful. Either way, they are among the rarest and most desirable of all the Washington, or for that matter, confederation period coins.

all photos Heritage

The star and letter punches c, o, n, t, e and i of both the 1785 NOVA CONSTELLATIO dies, and the 1785 immune columbia die match those on the CONFEDERATIO die. Several of the punches match the 1786 IMMUNIS COLUMBIA die as well. The mules below would seem to tie them all to the same maker as the Gen. Washington coins.

Breen 1131

Breen 1128

1. Breen felt that Constellatio Nova was a more grammatically correct Latin usage. It also fit well into a complex hexameter verse he had discovered. Newman presented a strong case for Nova Constellatio being the correct word order. The translation into English is New Constellation , regardless of which position the word Nova sits in. For this reason, the American usage is retained. 2. The five-unit coin was described by Samuel Curwen in his diary entry for May 15, 1784 as having been presented to him at tea by a Mr. Bartlet. Curwen refers to young Mr. Bartlet of Salem in several of his diary entries. This was in all likelihood, Josiah Bartlett, Jr., of Salem, New Hampshire, whose father was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and who was still serving in the Continental Congress. The senior Bartlett could have obtained the coin from Charles Thompson, secretary to the Congress, who in turn had received it from Thomas Jefferson. To complicate matters slightly, Curwen’s diary entry adds the word Et to Libertas Et Justitia , which does not appear on the original pattern coin. As the diary entry was written before the Nova Constellatios were reissued, either Curwen added the word by mistake, or it was added by an editor who thought he was making a correction. 3. Sometime in the 1860s, Joseph Mickley made cast copies of the two larger denomination coins. Copies were also made by John W. Haseltine and Robert Bashlow.

10 • Medallic Washington

GW-03 Gen. Washington — Confederatio 1785

Baker-09; Appleton-12

circa 1785

Heritage

Obverse: Reverse:

Bust of Washington in uniform facing right. Around, GEN. WASHINGTON. Thirteen large stars surrounded by rays. CONFEDERATIO • 1785 • around.

Edge:

Plain

GW Metal

Diameter

WeightRulau R Notes:

03

mm 1/16 grains Fuld

Dies by Walter Mould

Copper 29 18 134.6 09

VR WA.1785.1; Breen-1125; per Breen 7 or 8 known

This is listed by Breen as Decad 4-D, indicating obverse 4 paired with reverse D

GW-04 Gen. Washington — U.S. Shield circa 1785

Baker-11

SM

Obverse:

Bust of Washington in uniform facing right. Around, GEN. WASHINGTON. Same as the obverse of GW-03. The U.S. Shield, ¬ E ¬ PLURIBUS ¬ UNUM ¬ around. New Jersey cent Maris C reverse.

Reverse:

Edge:

Plain

GW Metal

Diameter

Edge WeightRulau R Notes:

04

mm 1/16 mm

Fuld

grains

Dies by Walter Mould

Copper 29 18

130.7 11

VR WA.1786.2; Breen-1126; 3 known.

“This piece, found in a lot of old coppers about ten years ago, by Mr. John W. Haseltine, of Philadelphia, was purchased at the Crosby sale, June, 1883, by Lorin G. Parmelee, of Boston, for six hundred and twenty dollars, the highest price as yet paid for any single Washington piece. The date is probably 1786” (Baker, p.16). Cataloged by Breen as pattern Decad 4-F. Breen and others have written that the traditional reference to this coin as the “New Jersey Washington” is mistaken. The misunderstanding occurs because the reverse die was subsequently used on several prototypes of New Jersey coppers made at Walter Mould’s mint, but the combination with this Washington die predated the New Jersey coins. At the time this coin was struck, it had no relation to New Jersey.

The Early Medals: 1777 to 1858 • 11