To His Excellency
Mr. Huntington,
President of Congress.
Passy, March 4, 1780.
Sir: Agreeably to the order of Congress, I have employed one of the best artists here in cutting the dies for the medal intended for M. de Fleury. The price of such work is beyond my expectation, being a thousand livres for each die. I shall try if it is not possible to have the others done cheaper.
With great respect I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
B. Franklin.
This medal was shown in the exhibition of the Royal Academy in Paris in 1781. The Libertas Americana piece was struck in 1783.
Six of the earliest of the series were designed under the supervision of Colonel David Humphreys, namely, those for Generals Washington, Gates, Greene, and Morgan, and Lieutenant-Colonels Washington and Howard. To insure a due observance of the laws of numismatics, and that they might bear comparison with the best specimens of modern times, Colonel Humphreys asked the aid of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres in the composition of the designs. He explained his action in this respect to the President of Congress in the following letter:
To His Excellency
The President of Congress.
Paris, March 18, 1785.
Sir: Before I left America, I made application to the Superintendent of Finances for the sword which Congress had been pleased to order, by their resolution of the 17th of November, 1781, to be presented to me, in consequence of which Mr. Morris informed me verbally that he would take the necessary arrangements for procuring all the honourary presents which had been directed to be given to different officers during the late war, and requested that I would undertake to have them executed in Europe. Some time after my arrival here, I received the inclosed letter[1] from him, accompanied with a list of medals, etc., and a description of those intended for General Morgan and Colonels Washington and Howard.
Upon the receipt of these documents I did not delay to make the proper inquiries from the characters who were the best skilled in subjects of this nature, and after having spoken to some of the first artists, I was advised to apply to the Abbé Barthélémy, member of the academies of London, Madrid, Cortona, and Hesse-Cassel, and actual keeper of the King's Cabinet of Medals and Antiquities, at whose instance I wrote a letter to the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, of which a copy is inclosed. Being informed at the same time that the description of medals for General Morgan, etc., was not in the style and manner such medals were usually executed, I took the liberty of suspending the execution of them, until I could learn whether it is the pleasure of Congress to have them performed exactly in the manner prescribed—which shall be done accordingly, in case I should not be honoured with further instructions on the subject before their approaching recess.
The medals voted for the capture of Stony Point have been, or I believe may be, all struck from the die originally engraved to furnish one of them for Colonel de Fleury.