A remarkable coin sold at auction for $10,800 thanks to its historical significance.
Both the date on the obverse of the coin and Benjamin Franklin's role in its design contribute to its value.
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The Libertas Americana Medal is highly prized among collectors for its rich historical significance, rarity, and connection to the founding of the United States.
It is one of the most famous and highly praised medals related to American history.
One of these coins sold for $10,800 via Heritage Auctions on November 25, 2024.
Benjamin Franklin, while serving as an American diplomat in France, is credited with creating the design of the Libertas Americana medal.
He intended the medal to commemorate American independence during the Revolutionary War and to commemorate key military victories at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781.
The obverse of the coin depicts Lady Liberty with a hat and a plume, which symbolizes freedom.
The design later appeared on US half cents and large cents.
The year 1776 is also inscribed on the obverse of the Libertas Americana Medal marking the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States.
The reverse of the coin shows a scene of France while Minerva defends the United States, depicted as an infant, against the British lion.
“This reminds me of a medal I was thinking of winning… I represent the United States with the image of the infant Hercules in his cradle, strangling the serpent; and France with the image of Minerva, sitting beside him like a queen. Nurse, with her lance and helmet, and her gown dotted with a few lis,” Franklin wrote in Letter dated March 1782 to Robert Livingston, US Secretary of State.
Augustin Duprey, the famous French medalist, engraved the design and had it minted at the Paris Mint.
The Libertas Americana Medal is considered a “Holy Grail” item in the field of American coinage, consistently generating high auction prices.
In addition to the medal's historical importance, its original condition contributed to its high price.
They have been certified by NGC, or Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, as Uncirculated, which is highly desirable for collectors.
Million dollar coin
Another rare coin sold for $2.52 million at a record auction.
Some of the rarer and harder-to-find coins date back to the pre-Federal era, which refers to the period before the establishment of the U.S. Mint in 1792.
One of the rarest pre-Federal coins is the 1652 NE Threepence, one of which sold on November 18 for more than $2.5 million.
Numismatic experts described it as “the most important numismatic discovery in generations.”
Rare coins
Maybe you keep something valuable in your wallet. Check out these articles about rare coins to see if you have a treasure hidden deep in your pockets.
Until 2024, only one of these coins was known to have been discovered and sold at auction, and that was 150 years ago.
The value of the coin is increased by the signature “NE” for New England stamped on the top of the obverse and the Roman numeral three engraved in the same place on the reverse.
These historical details link the coin to the Hall & Sanderson Mint in Boston, Massachusetts, and confirm its period of production, despite the lack of a date stamp.
Check out these other rare coins.
Three sisters have sold a rare coin with a missing mint mark for $500,000 after it was locked in the family vault for emergencies.
Plus, read about the four rare coins worth up to $3.7 million.
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