(1770) AR Medal Betts-525, George Whitefield MS(PCGS#621525)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1170

等级

AU Details

价格

9,702

详细说明

36.1 mm. 349.3 grains. Bright silver gray with somewhat reflective fields on the obverse. Polished long ago, like most examples of this Betts number we've encountered, including LaRiviere's (Bowers and Merena, March 2001, lot 2119) and Adams' (SBG November 2015, lot 23006). This example shows some hairlines, scattered marks, several minor rim nicks, and a larger rim bruise at 3 o'clock on the obverse. The sharpness is excellent and the visual appeal remains strong.<p>We've sold only the Adams piece since the 2006 Ford XIV medal sale; it brought $1,057.50 in 2015. Ford only had one of these in silver (by comparison, he had six examples of the Betts-526 George Whitefield medal in copper). This is a very elusive medal that is nearly impossible with nice surfaces. Whitefield was an Englishman, but he was one of the biggest celebrities the American colonies had ever seen. Even the famously areligious Benjamin Franklin emptied his pockets when he heard him preach in 1739:<p><em>I happened soon after to attend one of his Sermons, in the Course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a Collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my Pocket a Handful of Copper Money, three or four silver Dollars, and five Pistoles [Spanish coins] in Gold. As he proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give the Coppers. Another Stroke of his Oratory made me asham'd of that, and determin'd me to give the Silver; and he finish'd so admirably, that I emptied my Pocket wholly into the Collector's Dish, Gold and all.</em><p>Whitefield's death in Newburyport, Massachusetts, cited on this medal, led Betts to include it in the American canon, where it has remained ever since.