1787 Bronze Medal Columbia & Washington

Coin Details

Auction Record

$66,000 AU55BN 11-21-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1787 bronze medal features Columbia and Washington, pairing the female personification of America with the nation's foremost leader in the year of the Constitutional Convention. Washington presided over the Convention in Philadelphia, and his moral authority was essential to the Constitution's acceptance. Columbia, the poetic name for America derived from Columbus, appeared frequently on patriotic imagery. This medal captures the optimism of the founding moment when the American experiment in republican government was receiving its permanent constitutional form. Pre-federal medals from 1787 are among the earliest American patriotic medallic pieces, predating the U.S. Medal collecting has experienced renewed interest in recent decades as numismatists have recognized these pieces as historical artifacts deserving the same scholarly attention given to coins and currency. Mint's establishment in 1792.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. 1787 bronze medal. Pre-federal medals from the Constitutional Convention era are uncommon.

Cross References

PCGS #570894; Columbia and Washington; 1787; Bronze; Constitutional Convention Era