(1776) Bronze Medal J-CM-8, Sansom, American Revolution

Coin Details

Auction Record

$7,800 MS67BN 03-29-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

This bronze medal, cataloged as J-CM-8, is the Sansom version of the American Revolution medal dating to 1776. Joseph Sansom of Philadelphia was responsible for one of the most important early American medal designs, creating a piece that commemorated the Revolution with classical allegorical imagery popular in the late eighteenth century. The Julian CM-8 designation places this within the commemorative medal series, and the Sansom attribution identifies the specific design variant within the broader family of Revolution-themed medals. Bronze versions were more widely distributed than precious metal strikings, though "widely" in the context of late-eighteenth-century medals still means relatively small numbers by modern standards. The Sansom Revolution medal is studied alongside the Comitia Americana series and other early American medals as evidence of how the new nation crafted its visual identity through the classical vocabulary of European medallic art.

Rarity Notes

J-CM-8, bronze composition. Sansom design variant. Revolutionary-era medal. Scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #898204; Julian CM-8; Sansom American Revolution Medal, Bronze; 1776