CARL ZIGROSSER In conclusion it might be appropriate to quote some reflections by Benjamin Franklin, who, with his usual wisdom and acumen, has analyzed the essence and purpose of medallic memorials. It was appended to a letter from Franklin at Passy to John Jay, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, May 10, 1785: P.S. The striking of the medals being now in agitation here, I send the enclosed for consideration. A Thought concerning the Medals that are to be struck by order of Congress. The forming of dies in steel to strike medals or money, is generally with the intention of making a great number of the same form. The engraving those dies in steel is, from the hardness of the substance, very difficult and expensive, but, once engraved, the great number to be easily produced afterward by stamping justifies the expense, it being but small when divided among a number. When only one medal of a kind is wanted, it seems an unthrifty way to form dies for it in steel to strike the two sides of it, the whole expense of the dies resting on that medal. It was by this means that the medal voted by Congress for M. de Fleury cost one hundred guineas, when an engraving of the same figures and inscriptions might have been beautifully done on a plate of silver of the same size for two guineas. The ancients, when they ordained a medal to record the memory of any laudable action, and do honour to the performer of that action, struck a vast number and used them as money. By this means the honour was extended through their own and neighbouring nations, every man who received or paid a piece of such money was reminded of the virtuous action, the person who performed it, and the reward attending it, and the number gave such security to this kind of monuments against perishing and being forgotten, that some of each of them exist to this day, though more than two thousand years old, and, being now copied in books by the arts of engraving and painting, are not only exceedingly multiplied but likely to remain some thousands of years longer. The man who is honoured only by a single medal is obliged to show it to enjoy the honour, which can be done only to a few, and often awkwardly. I therefore wish the medals of Congress were ordered to be money, and so continued as to be convenient money, by being in value aliquot parts of a dollar. Copper coins are wanting in America for small change. We have none but those of the King of [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. England. After one silver or gold medal is struck from the dies, for the person to be honoured, they may be usefully employed in striking copper money, or in some cases small silver. The nominal value of the pieces might be a little more than the real, to prevent their being melted down, but not so much more as to be an encouragement of counterfeiting. REFERENCES ALVIN, FREDERIC. "Dupré" in the Thieme-Becker Dictionary. APPLETON, WILLIAM S. 1890. Augustin Dupré and his work for America, in the Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc. Second Ser. 5: 348-352. Important early document on the Boston Collection. BETTS, C. WYLLYS. 1894. American colonial history illustrated by contemporary medals, edited with notes by W. T. R. Marvin and L. H. Low. N. Y. The medal collector's handbook. BLANC, CHARLES. 1870. Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages d'Augustin Dupré, lue dans la seance trimestrielle de l'Academie des Beaux Arts. One of the early authorities. Boston Public Library. 1889. 37th Annual Report of the Trustees of the Public Library: Librarian's Report for the year 1888, pp. 20-23. The official record of the Boston Collection. FORRER, LEONARD. 1904. Biographical Dictionary of Medalists 1: 647-652. London. Guide to the Numismatic Collection of the Mint at Philadelphia, 72, Washington, 1913. Mentions (p. 72) that Dupré's medal Libertas Americana was imitated on early issues of cent and half cent. LIVINGSTON, LUTHER S. 1914. Franklin and his press at Passy. N. Y. Grolier Club. References to the Libertas Americana medal and the Franklin coat of arms. LOUBAT, J. F. 1878. The medallic history of the United States of America, N. Y., published by the author. 1 vol. text and 1 vol. of illustrations with 170 etchings by Jules Jacquemart. A sumptuous and definitive work on early American medals, citing all the documents pertaining to them. SAUNIER, CHARLES. 1894. Augustin Dupré. Paris. The last monograph on Dupré. - 1918. Les médailles françaises de l'indépendence américaine, in Les Arts, No. 172: 2-6. A general article on the American medals by one of the authorities. SMYTH, ALBERT HENRY. 1905-1907. The writings of Benjamin Franklin. 10 vols. N. Y, Macmillan. Snowden, JAMES Ross. 1860. The Mint manual of coms of all nations. Philadelphia. Early American comage 1861. The medallic memorials of Washington in the Mint of the United States. Philadelphia. The Gilbert Stuart anecdote, p. 177. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Bureau of the Mint gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Michael Di Biase, American Numismatic Society, New York, who photographed the medals which appear in this catalogue, and whose society furnished the photographs as a public service to the Government. To Phyllis H. Huie goes special thanks for typing and editing this catalogue. Extensive aid in the preparation of the manuscript for the U.S. Navy medals was provided by the Department of the Navy. This was accomplished under the direction of Rear Adm. Ernest M. Eller, USN (Ret.), Director of the Division of Naval History; by Dr. William J. Morgan, Head of Historical Research, and his assistants, Lt. Patrick A. Lyons, USNR, and Lt. Comdr. Harold C. Wayte, USNR. Special apprecia tion goes, also, to Col. H. A. Schmidt, Chief, Historical Services Division, Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army for reviewing the manuscript on the U.S. Army medals. In addition to Mint records, background material was obtained from "Medallic History of the United States of America" by J. Loubat, and from the Revolutionary War book "Colonials and Patriots" by Sarles and Shedd, published by the National Parks Service. The chapter on the history of the Presidential Medal Series was prepared by The Reverend Francis Paul Prucha, S.J., Professor of History at Marquette University. Father Prucha has since authored a study entitled "Indian Peace Medals in American History", which is published by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. "Medallic Sketches of Augustin Dupre", by Carl Zigrosser, has been reprinted in this catalogue through the courtesy of Dr. Zigrosser and The American Philosophical Society. |