Circa 1800 Hero of Freedom Medal. A large and handsome medal that would have gleamed like bright gold when new, and the reverse is very nearly in that condition still. There is rub on the high points of Washington’s hair and the epaulet on his shoulder, and those areas and the obverse fields have the gilt worn away, showing the bronze metal beneath, though ample gilt remains in the details of Washington’s bust, and the entire periphery. The reverse fared better and is nearly full gilt, with just the lightest rub on the highest points of the design, which suggests this was in a collector’s cabinet, obverse side up and the reverse protected by the soft felt it rested on, likely for a century or more. A very rare variant in the series, the planchets were gilded prior to strike and these were clearly made as something special, both flashier and costlier than the regular bronze versions. As late as the sale of the Ford collection this was touted as an extreme rarity with just three known. The true population is likely 15 or so known in fire gilt, some quite high grade which were clearly cherished, others worn down as low as Good! , which were likely kept as pocket pieces, as they would have been larger than any copper coin in circulation in the US – and wouldn’t have circulated as a gold piece as a quick test would have shown it to be gilt and not actual gold. The 1800 date puts them at the time of the Washington funeral celebrations, and these gilt versions may have been produced for sale at – or for wearing to – some of those events, and the presence of silver specimens that included a holed and worn example in the Norweb sale strongly support that supposition. A special piece for the collector, there are only a handful of early Washington issues that come gilt, and they are quite stunning in hand, especially for those of us more used to copper hues. The pictures are of the actual coin being offered, and have been enlarged in size to show the detail – and we have included photos in black and white as well. We have over 35 years experience as professional dealers in US colonial coinage – and another 15 years prior to that as collectors of the series as well. Thank you again for your interest, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.