Lot 7: 1683 Dutch West India Company Medal

1683 Dutch West India Company. Silver. 46.0 mm. 32.6 grams. Betts-64. Plain Edge--Overstruck on a Two Ducatoon of Holland, circa1671-1680

The Dutch West India Company (or Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie) was established in 1621 by charter of the States-General of the UnitedNetherlands. By the terms of their charter, the company was granted an official monopoly on all trade on the Atlantic including colonies in Africa,the West Indies, and North and South America. The DWC was also permitted to establish colonies in the name of the States-General, which they did withgreat glee and delight: Fort Oranje at Albany in 1624, Fort Nassau at Philadelphia in the same year, Fort Good Hope at Hartford in 1633, and ofcourse Fort Amsterdam at New York City in 1626.

The company attempted to populate its new colonies with assurances of wealth through the fur trade in these regions, and offered patroonships withhuge tracts of land to any investor who would pay to bring 50 new colonists to the New York settlements. During the turnover of New York to theEnglish between 1664 and 1674, the Dutch West India Company turned its attention to settlements in modern-day Guyana and Suriname as well as Africanpossessions such as Angola and Madagascar. In 1674, the company disbanded and reformed as the Nieuwe West Indische Compagnie, whose sphere includedCuracao, the aforementioned properties on the north coast of South America, and several African ports. Their trade revolved around sugar cane,coffee, chocolate, and slaves.

This medal depicts and names one of the jewels of the Dutch West India Company crown during this period when the role of the company was changingfrom its height as a colonizing force in the 1620s and 1630s. The castle of St. George d'Elmina in Ghana was built in 1482 by the Portuguese andcaptured in 1637 by the Dutch West India Company, who used it as a center of trade in slaves and gold coming from the port of Elmina, whichtranslates as "the mine" in Portuguese, to the Caribbean, Brazil and mainland North America. The castle, which still stands and is theoldest European building in Africa, is depicted with the striped flag of the Dutch West India Company flying above it and a well detailed galleon inthe foreground.

To read the complete lot description, see:
1683 Dutch West India Company. Silver. 46.0 mm. 32.6 grams. Betts-64. PlainEdge--Overstruck on a Two Ducatoon of Holland, circa 1671-16 (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-5T6KK)

Lot 25: Betts-382 Lord Anson Medal in Gold

Historic Betts-382 Lord Anson Medal in Gold
To Mark His Circumnavigation of the Globe Admiral George, Lord Anson circumnavigated the globe between 1740 and 1744 and defeated the French atCap Finisterre in 1747, as commemorated by Fame awarding a laurel on the obverse and the names of his subordinate officers on the reverse. This medalwas likely conceived by Anson's brother Thomas about 1768; Christopher Eimer describes him as "George's older, bachelor brother, WhigM.P., and founded of the Society of Dilettanti, whose 'cabinet of medals' is referred to by Josiah Wedgwood." Fifty examples were struckin gold, along with 80 in silver. Eimer reports 40 struck in copper, but that number may be too low (Ford had six of them, for instance).

Thomas Pingo was perhaps the most talented of the English medalists working in the third quarter of the 18th century. He was a favorite of theLondon elite, a group of people who pursued numismatics, history, and art with equal vigor. Pingo's Seven Years War series for the Society forPromoting Arts and Commerce (SPAC, later known as the Royal Society of the Arts) is well known to Betts medal enthusiasts, but other works like the1772 Botetourt for the College of William and Mary and this Anson medal are also part of the Betts corpus. Anson became a celebrated figurethroughout the British Empire; Anson County, North Carolina is named for him, as is Anson, Maine. His fame was sealed by his circumnavigation,highlighted by his capture of the "Manilla Galleon," the Nuestra Senora de la Covadonga, which yielded over 1 million 8 reales insilver.

To read the complete lot description, see:
"1747" (Circa 1768) Anson's Voyage Around the World. Gold. 43.3 mm. 42.6grams. Betts-382. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-5T6LH)

Lot 29: 1756 Kittanning Destroyed Medal

1756 Kittanning Destroyed Medal. Bronze. 44.1 mm. 47.5 grams. Betts-400, Julian MI-33. Original Dies. MS-64 BN (NGC).

A later state of this famous and popular medal, nearly 7.0 mm thick at the centers to allow for detail from the badly broken and sunken dies. Thesurfaces are attractive light brown with just a few well hidden specks, though the bottom edge shows a square punchmark or dent at 6 o'clock,essentially invisible from either side. The obverse is boldly cracked at 6 o'clock, while the reverse shows several curved cracks that meet inthe upper center of that die.

To read the complete lot description, see:
1756 Kittanning Destroyed Medal. Bronze. 44.1 mm. 47.5 grams. Betts-400, Julian MI-33.Original Dies. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-5T7MS)

Lot 89: Abraham Lincoln Gold Medal Collection

In our (Stack's) September 2010 Philadelphia Americana Sale we had the distinct pleasure of presenting for sale this unique collection of goldAbraham Lincoln medals, once a prized possession of Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. At that time we elected to offer the set in 16 separate lots (15individual gold medals plus the case and documents related to the set). One collector felt the set should remain together and succeeded in winningeach lot in the set, keeping it intact. Five years later, when the owner decided to part with the medals, he contacted us, giving us a secondopportunity to sell this historic property. Once again the medals were offered as 16 separate lots, and again, one collector sensed the importance ofkeeping these medals together as a set and aggressively bid for, and won, each of the individual lots. Now, for a third time, we are honored topresent Mr. Eliasberg's gold Lincoln set at auction. This time, as the collecting public seems to prefer, it will remain as a set, including all15 medals and the case, along with the supporting documents in a single lot.

In the panorama of American medallic art, only George Washington has appeared on more medals than Abraham Lincoln. Beginning with the politicalmedals and medalets of the 1860 presidential campaign, Lincoln appeared on an ever-increasing volume of medallic issues, including pieces mourninghim upon his assassination by John Wilkes Booth and all the subsequent anniversaries of his birth and of major acts of his presidency, including theEmancipation Proclamation. Over the next 150 years, medals in every imaginable metal would be struck by the United States Mint and a wide variety ofprivate manufacturers.

The extraordinary medals comprising this collection were first assembled by Judson Brenner, an early American Numismatic Association leader, whosecollection was the basis of the Robert P. King catalog. The collection was handled after Brenner's death by Henry Chapman. It was purchased by T.James Clarke of Jamestown, N.Y. and was subsequently acquired by Stack's of New York City, who interested Eliasberg in the unique assemblage.

Now Eliasberg's, the gold Lincoln grouping included the U.S. Mint's massive Lincoln Indian Peace medal, the impressive Presidential medalby George T. Morgan, the 1871 Emancipation medal and 1909 Birth Centennial issue and seven of the tiny Mint Medalets honoring Lincoln with otherhistoric figures. Also included are those issued by the colorful New York professional numismatist Thomas L. Elder, a passionate Lincoln admireruntil his death in 1948. Modern issues are highlighted by J. Henri Ripstra's rectangular Lincoln plaquette struck in the 1930s. Ripstra, a formerpresident of the American Numismatic Association, was a skilled medalist in his own right.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Unprecedented Abraham Lincoln Gold Medal Collection.(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-5T8DP)

Lot 114: 1867 Cyrus Field Atlantic Cable Medal

1867 Cyrus Field Atlantic Cable Medal. Aluminum. 102.4 mm. 137.5 grams. Julian PE-10c. Lustrous Mint State.

According to Julian, six aluminum medals were special ordered - ostensibly by Field himself - in January 1868. The strike is definitive and thesurfaces are as deeply reflective as they are untoned. Aside from a patch of hairlines in the left obverse field, and some very faint ones elsewhere,we see no problems of note. Of use in identifying this particular specimen, there is an intriguing planchet crack running entirely through part ofthe medal. It is visible, on close examination, starting at the second cloud on the left of the obverse, extending through the rim and edge, andvisible on the left reverse from the rim at 8 o'clock and extending nearly 3/4 of an inch into the field below the E in TELEGRAPHIC. Althoughtechnically a flaw, the crack seems to add an additional level of interest to the piece. Struck when aluminum was essentially a precious metal, andin an early brittle, less malleable formulation, this large and dramatic medal represents one of America's great technological advances.

To read the complete lot description, see:
1867 Cyrus Field Atlantic Cable Medal. Aluminum. 102.4 mm. 137.5 grams. JulianPE-10c. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-5T794)

Lot 116: 1826 Erie Canal Completion Medal

Famous 1826 Erie Canal Completion Dollar in Silver
Designed by Charles Cushing Wright

Designed by Charles Cushing Wright, the medal features Poseidon, Greek god of the ocean, and Pan, Greek god of nature, at the center of theobverse, both seated on a rock with a cornucopia, the ocean in the background with a lighthouse on shore. UNION OF ERIE WITH THE ATLANTIC curvesabove, R.DEL. and W. SC in the exergue. The reverse features an eagle at the center perched upon a demi-globe (much after the style of the patternquarter dollar of 1792 by Joseph Wright), with an adorned shield bearing the Arms of New York below. A background scene of a sailing vessel and canallocks is present, ERIE CANAL COMM. 4 JULY 1817 COMP. 26 OCT. 1825 arcs above, C.C.WRIGHT SC / 1826 / PRESENTED BY THE CITY OF N. YORK on three linesin the exergue. No example of this medal has been graded equal to or higher than the present piece by NGC. The even more elusive round woodenpresentation box is also included - not encapsulated, of course, and is complete and undamaged, still retaining both paper inserts.

Numismatic Reflections by Q. David Bowers
When Katie Jaeger and I compiled what became The 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens, a Whitman best seller, collectors, dealers, scholars, andothers were invited to vote on those considered most important. The Erie Canal Medal landed in the top 10, a marvelous distinction. Beyond that, thisis one of the most historic of all American medals and is the earliest readily collectible medal by the engraver considered to be the finest inAmerica in the second decade of the 19th century. Medals that Wright produced at an earlier time are few and far between and very little is knownabout them. Interestingly, Wright had numismatic inclinations and a few years after creating the dies for this medal, gave a lecture on ancient coinsto interested people in New York City. A book-length biography of Charles Cushing Wright is waiting to be written - his talents were immense andcovered tokens, medals, and coins (1851 $50 Octagonal), his life was fascinating, and a wealth of material is available for research and study.