(1796) Bronze Medal Castorland Restrike - Plain Edge

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as W-9125 and PCGS #524026, this plain-edge bronze restrike reproduces the original 1796 Castorland medal designed to promote a French colonial settlement scheme in upstate New York along the Black River. The Compagnie de New-York, a consortium of French aristocrats displaced by the Revolution, commissioned the original dies from Duvivier in Paris to attract investors to their 210,000-acre tract in what is now Lewis County. The obverse depicts Ceres, goddess of agriculture, with a liberty cap and the legend FRANCO-AMERICANA COLONIA, while the reverse shows a map of the Castorland settlement surrounded by SALVE MAGNA PARENS FRUGUM. Restrikes were produced from the surviving original dies (or faithful copies) at various points during the 19th century, making them accessible to collectors who could never obtain an original striking. This plain-edge variant is classified as moderately scarce among the restrike population. Struck in bronze, the medal weighs 15 grams with a 32 mm diameter, and the plain edge distinguishes it from the reeded-edge restrikes cataloged separately as W-9130.

Rarity Notes

Moderately scarce restrike.

Cross References

W-9125