Libertas Americana, France, 1782-3 (Original dies)

The Libertas Americana is one of the most iconic medals in American history. Benjamin Franklin commissioned the medal as the Revolutionary War was coming to an end. At the time he was serving as Minister to France (1776–1785) and envisioned an inspiring medal that would commemorate the Continental Army’s victories at Saratoga (1777) and Yorktown (1781) as well as honor the crucial role of French support in America’s liberation from British rule. The obverse depicts a youthful Liberty with flowing hair flanked by a pole with a freedman’s cap above the date 4 Juil [July] 1776. This design became a model for some of the first U.S. coin designs in 1792–1793 is an enduring image of America’s struggle for freedom and independence.

Franklin described his vision for the reverse in a letter in 1782 writing that he had in mind striking a medal, “representing the United States by the figure of an infant Hercules in his cradle, strangling the two serpents; and France by that of Minerva, sitting as his nurse, with her spear and helmet and her robes speckled with a few ‘ fleurs-de-lis .’”

Franklin hired Augustin Dupré and Esprit-Antoine Gibelin to develop the design which evolved to show an allegorical battle scene of the fight for American independence in which France is depicted as the goddess Minerva (the Roman goddess of war) who protects an infant Hercules (America) from a pouncing British lion. The Latin message “Non Sine Diis Animosus Infans”—which translates to “The courageous child is not without the aid of the gods”—surrounds the battle, emphasizing the transcendent power of France’s aid to America.

One (1) Libertas Americana medal

United States (France), 1782-3

Obverse Image: Bust of Liberty with flowing hair, facing left; flanked by a pole with a freedman’s cap.

Obverse Text: LIBERTAS. AMERICANA. / 4 JUIL. 1776.

Reverse Image: France is depicted as the goddess Minerva (the Roman goddess of war) who protects an infant Hercules (America) from a pouncing British lion.

Reverse Text: NON SINE DIIS ANIMOSUS INFANS. / 17 OCT. 1777. / 19 [OCT.] 1781

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