101509 | UNITED STATES. Philadelphia. Centennial Exposition bronze Medal.

101509 | UNITED STATES. Philadelphia. Centennial Exposition bronze Medal. Issued 1876 (57mm, 105.27 g, 12h). By W. Barber.

 

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE / ACT OF CONGRESS JUNE 1874, Victory standing facing, head lowered left, wearing Phrygian cap and placing garlanded laurel wreath upon kneeling figures of Industry (with hammer, anvil, and wheel) and the Arts (with bust, paintbrushes, and palette) / THESE UNITED COLONIES ARE, AND OF RIGHT OUGHT TO BE, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, Liberty, with head upturned right, kneeling left, holding sword, and extending hand upward toward radiant ring of thirteen stars. Edge: Plain.

 

Julian CM-11c; Swoger 3Idv1. Gem Mint State. Rich red-brown surfaces, with a great underlying brilliance. A mminor rim nick is noted merely for completeness. Very difficult to encounter this attractive and alluring.

 

The Centennial International Exposition of 1876 had the distinction of being the first such expo to take place within the United States, all while being held during the nation's 100th anniversary of independence. Nearly 10 million visitors viewed such novel inventions as the typewriter, the sewing machine, and the telephone.