As plenipotentiary of the United States of America henegotiated help in favour of Insurgents and was receivedofficially at Versailles by the king. The title of plenipotentiarytakes on full significance in view of the fact that atthat time, the minimum delay for the exchange of a postalmessage between France and America, was six weeks :the man chosen to bear this title had sole responsibilityin taking decisions of consequence for his country as awhole.

Benjamin Franklin succeeded then in a brilliantdiplomatic mission in having the new federal republic ofthe United States of America recognised by monarchicEurope, including England, which made peace on 3rdSeptember 1783, signing the Versailles treaty. Francethus took her revenge on her rival, England, whichhad taken away Canada twenty years earlier, by theParis treaty. Having been elected President of the stateof Pennsylvania in in 1786, he died in Philadelphia on the17th April 1790.

In a lesser-known capacity, he remains a major figureheadin the history of freemasonry. He was initiated in1731 at the Saint John of Philadelphia lodge, to which healways remained faithful ; he became the Grand Masterof Pennsylvania in 1734 and also visited the GrandLodge of England. From 1777 to 1785 in France, he wasan affiliated member of the Nine Sisters' Lodge, he waspresent on 7th April 1778 at Voltaire's initiation, and hewas Worshipful Master from 21st May 1779 to 1781,following Lalande and preceding the Marquis de la Salleand the Comte de Milly.

The latter died in 1784 and a 'jeton'reproducing the same reverse side as that of Franklinwas struck on this occasion, bearing his portrait. Thislodge was founded in 1776, three years after the GrandOrient of France, following an idea of Helvetius, himselffarmer general and who died in 1771. This was the mostimportant of pre-revolutionary Masonic lodges, beingthe home of the most brilliant and most liberated minds,for example Voltaire and Helvetius. This did not preventits disappearance in 1794. It started up again in 1805and disappeared for good in 1848 never having regainedits former importance.

To give the layman an idea of theimportance of this lodge, of which Benjamin Franklinwas the most famous Worshipful Master, a 400-pagebook was dedicated to it at the end of the 19th centuryby Louis Amiable, a most eminent freemason of the 3rdRepublic. The book was republished (Paris 1989 ) witha commentary of over 200 pages by Charles Porset, ahistorian specialising in the 18th century at the CNRS.(National Center for Scientific Research)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MAY 20, 2012: On the Franklin Parisian Masonic Lodge Medal(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n21a13.html)