1906 Benjamin Franklin Bicentennial Medal Reverse Design. Bronze galvanic cast, uniface. 12.25". By

1906 Benjamin Franklin Bicentennial Medal Reverse Design. Bronze galvanic cast, uniface. 12.25". By Augustus and Louis Saint-Gaudens. Type of Greenslet GM-119, Baxter 81.，<strong>About As Made</strong>. A fascinating bronze casting showing the reverse design of this medal in a format greatly enlarged from the 100mm (approximately 4") size of the medals struck by Tiffany and the U.S. Mint. The plaque is faithful to Louis Saint-Gaudens design as see on the final struck medals, though with minor differences in relative placement and rendering of the devices and legends. For example, in comparison to the struck medal, the letters are bolder and less slight, the olive branch laying on the ground does not quite reach the top of the second step, and the form of Saint-Gaudens monogram is different, the T of which does not extend beyond the boundary of the overall monogram. We reached out to Michael Moran, author of the 2008 work <em>Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, </em>to help put this reverse design in context. <p>The Franklin Bicentennial medal was Louis Saint-Gaudens commission, though Augustus helped Louis in the initial design stages; Louis completed the plaster models of both obverse and reverse by August 1905, turning them over to his brother and then went "west," leaving the medal in the hands of Augustus to drive to completion. At this point, Augustus made various modifications to the model before forwarding to Deitsch brothers for preparation of the dies. <p>The process had dragged through January 1906, and since the medal was commissioned by Congress with a gold example to be given to the French state, approval fell under the auspices of the State Department, which by February 10 was pleading with Augustus for the plaster casts, as he had kept the design under wraps up to that point. Again he put off the State Department, telling them that the reverse was unsatisfactory and that he was making a new one. On February 15, he released the design that is now on the medal. Moran believes the galvano in this lot to be the penultimate version that Augustus Saint-Gaudens, ever the tinkerer, felt needed modification, which he accomplished between February 10 and February 15, 1906. Given that the final version in the form of the medal that features lettering and fine details that are a bit more delicate and proportional, we believe that it is very plausible that the current galvano represents the reverse version immediately prior to Augustus tinkering. <p><p>The face of the galvano has been given a lovely dark chocolate patina, while the high points of the design elements were hand finished to smooth out some of the rougher texture created during the casting, in the process giving them a golden brown patina. The back shows the valleys represented by the relief figures on the face of the plaque, and the high points were ground down to create a flat surface for hanging, made easier by the integral hanger cast into the item, through which a jump ring has been threaded. In recent times we have seen an increased interest in lovely beaux-arts medals, including the 1906 Ben Franklin Medals-here is a chance to own a very rare galvano of the penultimate design variation that is ready made for display and enjoyment in home or office.<p>，，