Peace of Paris (1763-1775), Betts 507-537

About This Coin

Spanning Betts catalog numbers 507 through 537, this grouping of medals chronicles the diplomatic aftermath of the Seven Years' War and the uneasy peace that preceded the American Revolution. The 1763 Treaty of Paris fundamentally reshaped the colonial map of North America, transferring French Canada and Spanish Florida to British control while ceding Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. European mints — primarily in France, Britain, and the Netherlands — struck commemorative medals marking these territorial realignments, peace treaties, and the political figures who negotiated them. C. Wyllys Betts cataloged these pieces in his landmark 1894 reference "American Colonial History Illustrated by Contemporary Medals," organizing them chronologically to document New World events through the medallic arts. Medals from this period frequently feature allegorical imagery: Peace personified with olive branches, maps of ceded territories, portraits of monarchs George III and Louis XV, and classical motifs drawn from Roman iconography. Most were struck in bronze, silver, or white metal, with silver and gold examples commanding substantial premiums at auction — a notable result reached $72,000 in AU55 grade at Stack's Bowers. Collectors pursuing Betts medals from this era should be attentive to sharpness of portrait detail and the condition of inscriptions along the rim, as these medals saw considerable handling as contemporary keepsakes. The period represents the calm before the revolutionary storm, and medals from the late range (Betts 530s) begin to reflect the rising tensions between Britain and her American colonies that would erupt in open conflict by 1775.