(ca. 1798) AR Medal GW-68, Season Two: The Farmer MS(PCGS#784369)

Winter 2022 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

2078

等级

XF40

价格

372,891

详细说明

Historic Awarded Seasons Medal in Silver The Sower From the William Spohn Baker Collection Circa 1798 Washington Seasons Medal. The Sower. Early reverse die state. Musante GW-68, Baker-171, Julian IP-53. Silver. EF-40 (PCGS). 48.1 mm. 712.3 grains. A remarkable return appearance of one of the prizes of the William Spohn Baker Collection, sold by us in November 2019. We described it then, as follows: “Fairly light silver gray with the obverse in particular exhibiting light mottled bluish gray toning. Lightly polished surfaces and a bit hairlined, yet traces of the original reflectivity are still visible in places. Clearly an awarded medal, perhaps one of those promised by Washington to a Cherokee deemed deserving. The integral suspension loop has been lost, which is not unusual as they seem to have proven too weak to support the hard wear these medals occasionally endured. A small mounting mark is noted on the edge at 12 o’clock, where the loop had been. There are scattered bumps and nicks consistent with a piece that was worn, yet no serious damage as sometimes seen. There is evidence of coarse filing on the rims on both sides that has been there a long time. However, it appears very much like a decorative element, perhaps added by the wearer. Significantly, the file marks themselves were obviously fairly deep and yet are quite worn, nearly completely through in places. There are no signs of rim bumps or attempted removal of same. Struck through a small piece of wire in the obverse exergue, which at first glance might appear as a small scratch at U.S.A.” This identical strike-through is seen on an example of this medal at the ANS, though the position shifted between impressions, ever so slightly. Revisiting the matter of the Cherokee as told in the introduction above, it is notable that this piece was struck from the early state reverse die which seems to be rare, even among awarded medals. As such, there is a reasonable case to be made that it did indeed get awarded among the Cherokee, as it was this Nation that had been initially promised these medals, and this Nation whose want of them so plagued the Secretary of War during the long production delay. It would naturally follow that the first shipment of medals would have contained the earliest impressions and been awarded to those longest awaiting them. Still, this does have the small breaks that connect E and O of GEO and N and G of WASHINGTON. Unlike the later state medals offered here, these two breaks are not corrected on this medal. It would appear that this degree of quality control was not undertaken until collector strikes began to be distributed, or they had not yet been noticed by the maker. One of just 14 known to the writer, though one of these is suspicious and possibly silver-plated. Additional information pertaining to this lot: The Seasons Medals When William Spohn Baker set out to systematically catalog the enthusiastically collected and ever-growing body of Washington medals in his 1885 book, Medallic Portraits of Washington, he focused primarily, as the title suggests, on the portraits of George Washington found on coins, tokens and medals. The Seasons medals bear no such portraits, yet Baker included these in his reference in recognition of their historical importance and long-standing acceptance by collectors of Washington medals as inextricable entries into the series. Baker was a consummate historian and Washington scholar, so it is easy to understand why these medals would have been appreciated by him, perhaps to an even greater degree than by other collectors of the time. Baker introduced these medals, in part, as follows: "They were unquestionably used as Indian Peace medals, the designs referring to different phases of civilized life, being intended to attract attention to its comforts and advantages, and to induce them to make a change in their habits of living." Somewhat surprisingly considering the Washington scholar that Baker was, he did not mention that the direct inspiration for the designs of these medals was from George Washington's own pen. On August 29, 1796, George Washington wrote a letter to the Cherokee Nation, the complete text of which is easily found on the website of the National Archives. The letter was meant to address relations with the Cherokee by way of instruction as to how they might improve their standing as peaceful neighbors of the white settlers. It is a fascinating read for its insights into Washington's thoughtful manner, but also into the decidedly inconsiderate and absolute approach the administration took toward the Native peoples. It was clearly expected that they would abandon their own customs in favor of those practiced by white settlers. Washington was specific and presented his own personal desires to retire to his plantation as guidance for how the Cherokee might best live in peace and prosperity. He described the advantages of expanding livestock and crops and that "your wives and daughters can soon learn to spin and to weave." He summarized his detailed proposals as follows: "What I have recommended to you I am myself going to do. After a few moons are passed, I shall leave the great town, and retire to my farm. There I shall attend to the means of increasing my cattle, sheep, and other useful animals, to the growing of corn, wheat & other grain, and to the employing of women in spinning and weaving: all which I have recommended to you, that you may be as comfortable & happy as plenty of food, cloathing [sic] & other good things can make you." Herein lie the direct inspirations for the Seasons medals, reinforced as such by the following passage from the same letter: "…before I retire, I shall speak to my beloved man, the Secretary of War, to get prepared some medals, to be given to such Cherokees as by following my advice, shall best deserve them. For this purpose, Mr. Dinsmoore [Washington's Agent to the Cherokee Nation] is from time to time to visit every town in your Nation. He will give instructions to those who desire to learn what I have recommended. He will see what improvements are made; who are most industrious in raising cattle, in growing corn, wheat, cotton & flax, & in spinning and weaving: and on those who excel the rewards are to be bestowed." Less than two months later, on October 10, 1796, the Secretary of War wrote to Rufus King, the Washington administration's Minister to Great Britain, to procure the desired medals using sources in England. King called upon John Trumbull, the famous Revolutionary-era artist to design the medals, presumably based on a copy of Washington's letter to the Cherokee or notes taken therefrom, as Trumbull's sketches undeniably directly represent Washington's words. Unfortunately, by the time John Adams had been inaugurated President, on March 4, 1797, the Seasons medals were still not completed, much to the discomfort of Secretary of War James McHenry. According to Father Prucha, McHenry wrote on December 4, 1797, to Rufus King, "My poor Indians are very clamorous for their medals; more so indeed than for their plows." The medals were completed in 1798, and arrived from England in July of that year. There were reportedly 500 struck in silver and 200 struck in copper. According to Prucha, the first shipment included 326 silver medals. It is unclear which types were represented, but it was certainly an uneven distribution as this is not divisible by three. It is unknown when the copper impressions arrived. As the Seasons medals arrived so late, no new medals were specifically produced for the Adams administration, which must have distributed at least some of the Seasons medals to the Cherokee. Some or all of those that remained on hand are known to have been distributed under the Thomas Jefferson administration by the hands of Lewis and Clark. As such, the Seasons medals are tied not just to Washington, but to the first three presidential administrations as well as the famous journey of America's two most famous early explorers. Both silver and copper examples were issued with suspension loops that proved fragile, while at least a few of each were struck for medal cabinets, and never looped. The ANS has a set of the latter in silver, as does the British Museum. The Virgil Brand Estate produced a fabulous cased six-piece set (once in the Stickney cabinet). The copper specimens in the Baker Collection seem to have been such a presentation set as well. As far as we are aware, it is unknown who first called these the "Seasons Medals," but whoever it was didn't consider that these designs really have nothing to do with seasons, other than perhaps the spring planter. Augustus B. Sage did not use the term in his 1859 Henry Bogert sale, but by 1862 the term had been coined, as W. Elliot Woodward used it, in quotes, in his November sale of the Finotti Collection. Provenance: From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex the William Spohn Baker Collection, to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by bequest, November 15, 1897; our sale of Washingtoniana from the Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, November 2019, lot 20050. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA. Click here to see Coins in Motion.[“Coins]