1783 Silver Medal Betts-618, Benjamin Franklin Lodge of Nine Sisters

Coin Details

Auction Record

$10,200 AU50 04-03-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1783 silver medal (Betts-618) honors Benjamin Franklin and the Lodge of Nine Sisters (Loge des Neuf Soeurs), the famous Masonic lodge in Paris of which Franklin was the Grand Master from 1779 to 1781. The Lodge of Nine Sisters was an extraordinary intellectual institution whose members included Voltaire, the astronomer Lalande, the sculptor Houdon, and numerous other leading figures of the French Enlightenment. Franklin used his position as Grand Master to advance the American cause among France's intellectual and political elite, making the lodge a de facto center of pro-American advocacy. European medallic art of this era served as an official record of imperial achievements, with court-appointed medalists crafting pieces that communicated territorial claims and military victories to educated audiences across the continent. The medal documents the intersection of Masonic fellowship, Enlightenment philosophy, and Revolutionary diplomacy that was central to Franklin's extraordinary success in France.

Rarity Notes

Original 1783 silver. Franklin / Masonic / Lodge of Nine Sisters. Specialized subject with cross-collecting appeal. Scarce.

Cross References

Betts-618; Benjamin Franklin; Lodge of Nine Sisters; Loge des Neuf Soeurs; Masonic