103161 | FRANCE & UNITED STATES. Benjamin Franklin uniface terra cotta Medal.

103161  |  FRANCE & UNITED STATES. Benjamin Franklin uniface terra cotta Medal. Dated 1777, though issued 1778/9 (119mm [7mm thick], 196.07 g). By Jean-Baptiste Nini at the Château de Chaumont.

 

B FRANKLIN AMERICAIN, bust left in fur cap // Blank except for hole (as made) for suspension and small fleur de lis mark. Edge: Slightly beveled as made.

 

Margolis 18; Baiardi-Sibille 94, Greenslet GM-15, Storelli LXI, Villers 43. About Uncirculated. Mostly light chocolate brown surfaces, with some lighter hues upon the rim; a few scattered scuffs are noted, along with a minor old chip near 6h on the obverse. An iconic piece of Americana with an exceptional portrait of the founding father. Listed in the 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens as #29.

 

Nini excelled in the medium of terra cotta, producing portrait medals in the 1770s in the Loire Valley region of France at the Château de Chaumont. Chief among them were numerous renditions of the famous American and founding father, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin took France by storm, and was just as admired there as he was at home in America. So revered was he that Nini produced terra cotta medals like the present piece for American consumption as well as within France. This particular piece was for the latter, indicated rather discreetly by a small cross at 12h on the obverse—in the outermost concentric circular border—as well as by the impressed fleur de lis on the reverse. The hole upon the reverse is as-made, and found upon all examples, as they were designed for hanging as a form of wall art.

 

This item was featured in our e-sylum ad.

 

Upload: 14 July 2025.