Washington Military & Battle Medals

About This Coin

Commemorating George Washington's military career from the French and Indian War through the Revolutionary War and the Whiskey Rebellion, the Washington Military and Battle Medals capture the martial dimension of Washington's legacy through detailed medallic depictions of specific engagements, strategic achievements, and the broader arc of his military leadership. These medals span a remarkable range of conflicts: Washington's early service as a Virginia militia officer during the 1750s campaigns against French and Native forces, his appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in 1775, the major battles of the Revolution including Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, and Yorktown, and his final military action leading federal troops to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. The reverse designs on Military and Battle Medals frequently depict specific combat scenes — river crossings, siege operations, cavalry charges, or formal surrenders — providing medallic illustrations of American military history that served both commemorative and educational purposes for their original audiences. Obverse portraits typically show Washington in military uniform, reinforcing the martial context of each medal's commemorative message and distinguishing these pieces from the civilian-dress portraits found on diplomatic, Masonic, and ceremonial Washington medals. Production sources include both American and European manufacturers, with the finest military medals exhibiting the detailed engraving necessary to render complex battle scenes legibly on the small field of a medal's surface. The George Washington Medals catalog organizes these pieces by the specific military event commemorated, creating a chronological framework that allows collectors to assemble medallic histories of Washington's military career. While the most common military medal varieties trade in the three-figure range, rare die combinations and exceptional preservation drive prices into four figures at major auctions.