Unique Declaration of Independence medal leads record $4.27 million Sedwick auction

A unique American silver medal depicting the presentation of the Declaration of Independenceset a new record during Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC's Nov. 3 & 4 Treasure Auction 32.

The live online and floor auction was itself a record sale for the firm with over $4.27 million soldacross 1,622 lots.

The large proof silver medal was created in 1851 by artist Charles Cushing Wright. It was theonly example he struck in silver and has been called Wright's masterpiece.

On one side, the medal depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration ofIndependence to the Continental Congress on June 28th, 1776. Founding Fathers John Adams,Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin along with Richard Sherman and Robert R. Livingstonon the drafting committee are shown presenting the draft Declaration to the president ofCongress, John Hancock. Of the 47 men present in the entire scene set at Independence Hall, 42of them were signers of the Declaration of Independence. The design is based heavily upon thefamous 1818 painting by John Trumbull that currently hangs in the US Capitol rotunda.

The other side of the medal presents a highlight of formative American historical events fromthe "DISCOVERY OF NORTH AMERICA BY THE ENGLISH.JLY.3.1497 to A vignette of Europeans landing on America's shores as a NativeAmerican awaits graces the top of the reverse design. The bottom scene depicts a developed,busy American harbor.

The entire ownership pedigree for this unique medal can be traced dating back to Charles IraBushnell (Chapman auction of June 1882, lot 1274), the Garrett Estate (Bowers & Ruddy auctionof April 1981, lot 1910), Julian Leidman (Bowers & Merena auction of April 1986, lot 4126), andCharles A. Warton (Stack's Bowers auction of March 2014, lot 2077), subsequently purchasedby numismatist John Adams in the Stack's Bowers auction of August 2018 (lot 46).

NGC graded the medal as MS 62 though a specimen designation is more appropriate todescribe this unique piece.

The pre-sale estimate for the lot was $25,000 and up. After spirited bidding, both online and viaphone, the medal sold for $168,000. Thus, another pedigree for this unique medal has beenadded - as part of the Resolute Americana Collection.

said Daniel Frank Sedwick, president and founder of Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC.

Shipwreck treasure also saw considerable interest during the auction with many lots surpassingtheir high estimates.

A unique gold bar recovered from the wreck site of a 1715 Fleet treasure ship atVero Beach, Florida attracted heavy bidding.

The gold ingot, weighing 915 grams and marked with a fineness of 22k, was made in Colombiabefore being shipped to Spain in the ill-fated fleet. It bears the royal tax stamp as well as adecorated assayer/foundry stamp (B)ARBACO(A)S indicating its origin from the importantColombian gold mining town, Barbacoas. Salvors recovered the bar in 1983 and it went into thecollection of 1715 Fleet investor Don Anderson.

With an estimate of $60,000 to $90,000, considerable bidding led to a final sale price of$132,000 for the 1715 Fleet gold bar.

The highest selling coin lot in the auction was an extremely rare gold Venezuela essai 5venezolanos dated 1875-A in its first auction appearance ever.

The coin, graded by NGC as Proof 62 Cameo, is one of ten struck by the by the Paris Mint forthe nation of Venezuela. Only five examples, including this piece, are in private hands. Anotherfour are in museums like the Banco Central in Caracas, Venezuela. The tenth example is buriedin the cornerstone of the Simon Bolivar statue by Adamo Tadolini in Plaza Bolivar also inCaracas.

The rarity and importance of this coin in Latin American numismatics sparked a bidding war.The coin ultimately sold for $78,000 on a pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $45,000.

Other top lots in the sale include:

Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC's next Treasure Auction will be held in early May 2023. Interestedconsignors should contact the company by email at office@sedwickcoins.com. Full auctionresults are available at auction.sedwickcoins.com.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
SEDWICK TREASURE AUCTION 32 ANNOUNCED(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n42a25.html)
WRIGHT'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE MEDAL(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n44a14.html)