(1720) Silver Medal Betts-109, American Aloe Plant

Coin Details

Auction Record

$7,200 AU55 08-24-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

Betts-109 in silver features the American Aloe Plant, a botanical subject unusual within the Betts catalog's predominantly military and political content. The American aloe (Agave americana) was a New World plant that fascinated European naturalists, famously blooming only once after many years of growth and then dying. The aloe plant became a popular metaphor in European art and literature for patience, singular achievement, or dramatic transformation. This silver medal dated 1720 may connect the aloe plant symbolism to the Mississippi Bubble or other colonial financial schemes -- the plant that blooms spectacularly once before dying serving as an apt metaphor for John Law's spectacular rise and catastrophic fall. Alternatively, the medal may celebrate natural history discoveries in the Americas more broadly. Silver strikings of botanical-themed colonial medals are scarce and attract collectors interested in the intersection of natural science, art, and colonial history.

Rarity Notes

Silver striking with unusual botanical theme. Scarce and desirable for the uncommon subject matter within the Betts series.

Cross References

Betts-109; PCGS #921082