1800 Bronze Medal Baker-79B, Hero of Freedom

Coin Details

Auction Record

$2,233 MS63BN 03-29-2017 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1800 Baker-79B medal in bronze, "Hero of Freedom," is a variant of the memorial medal produced following George Washington's death on December 14, 1799. The Baker-79B designation indicates a specific die variety or metallic variant within the Baker-79 series, which encompasses multiple versions of the Hero of Freedom design. The "B" suffix distinguishes this from the primary Baker-79 listing by composition, die state, or other physical characteristic. The death of Washington triggered an unprecedented national mourning that generated hundreds of commemorative objects. Henry Lee's famous eulogy — "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" — captured the sentiment that drove the production of memorial medals like Baker-79B. Congress declared a day of national mourning, and communities across the country held memorial services and processions. The bronze Hero of Freedom medal belongs to the earliest stratum of Washington memorial production, created within months of his death when public grief was at its most intense. These 1800 memorials are distinguished from later commemoratives by their immediacy — they were produced not as historical retrospectives but as expressions of contemporary loss. The bronze composition indicates a piece intended for general circulation among mourners rather than as a presentation item.

Rarity Notes

Baker-79B variant. Bronze 1800 memorial medals survive in varying condition. Early post-death Washington memorials are valued for their historical immediacy.

Cross References

Baker-79B; PCGS #620199; Hero of Freedom memorial