1775 Bronze Medal Betts-551, Lord North

Coin Details

Auction Record

$2,280 MS64BN 11-21-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1775 bronze medal (Betts-551) depicts Lord North, the British Prime Minister whose policies were widely blamed for provoking the American Revolution. Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, served as Prime Minister from 1770 to 1782 and oversaw the implementation of the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts), the escalation to military conflict at Lexington and Concord, and the ultimately unsuccessful British prosecution of the Revolutionary War. Unlike the laudatory Pitt and Chatham medals, the Lord North medal was produced as a satirical or critical piece — medals were used for both praise and condemnation in the eighteenth century. Many Betts medals exist in multiple metal compositions struck from the same dies, as mints typically produced gold or silver presentations for dignitaries alongside bronze or copper versions for wider distribution. The 1775 date coincides with the outbreak of armed hostilities between Britain and the American colonies.

Rarity Notes

Original 1775 bronze. Lord North / outbreak of Revolution. Historically significant. Scarce.

Cross References

Betts-551; Lord North; American Revolution outbreak 1775