1777 Bronze Medal Betts-547, Benjamin Franklin

Coin Details

Auction Record

$20,400 SP64BN 06-16-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1777 bronze medal (Betts-547) features Benjamin Franklin, who by 1777 was serving as the American commissioner to France — the most important diplomatic posting of the Revolution. Franklin arrived in Paris in December 1776 and quickly became the most celebrated figure in French society, using his fame and charm to secure the French alliance that would prove decisive in winning American independence. The 1777 date places this medal during Franklin's first year in Paris, when he was actively courting French public opinion and the Bourbon court. Franklin's image appeared on an astonishing variety of French consumer goods — medallions, snuffboxes, rings, prints, and porcelain — prompting him to joke that his face was as well known as the moon. This bronze medal is part of that extraordinary cultural phenomenon.

Rarity Notes

Original 1777 bronze. Franklin in Paris during the Revolution. Franklin medals are widely collected. Scarce.

Cross References

Betts-547; Benjamin Franklin; Franklin in France 1777; American Revolution diplomacy