1757 Silver Jeton Betts-394 Reeded Edge var Bust Franco-American

Coin Details

Auction Record

$470 XF45 02-16-2017 Heritage Auctions

Description

This 1757 silver jeton (Betts-394) is a Franco-American piece with reverse eagle (RE) variant bust, continuing the series of French colonial attendance and commemorative tokens. The 1757 date coincides with a period of French military ascendancy in North America, when Montcalm captured Fort William Henry on Lake George — an event immortalized in James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans." Franco-American jetons were struck annually by the French colonial administration and distributed to officials and members of colonial institutions. The bust variant indicates an alternative portrait die, and the RE designation marks the reverse eagle design. Collectors have pursued Betts medals since the nineteenth century, when numismatists first recognized these pieces as a coherent body of historical documentation worthy of systematic study and cataloging. These jetons are primary documents of French colonial administration during the decisive phase of the struggle for North America.

Rarity Notes

Original 1757 silver jeton. Bust variant. Franco-American series. Scarce.

Cross References

Betts-394; Franco-American jeton 1757; French and Indian War