A gold medal of the Society of the Cincinnati, a group formed during the American revolutionary war, has sold as part of an Ohio auction on March 6.
 The city of Cincinnati, then a small town, was named after the society |
The medal realised $34,000, just within its $30,000-50,000 estimate.
The Society of the Cincinnati was founded in 1783, as an allegiance between French and American troops, to preserve the ideals of the war of independence.
The society is America's oldest patriotic society, and now serves to promote interest in the actions of its ancestors through support given to libraries, museums and educational programs.
The medal itself is one of only 140 original eagles produced for the inaugural members of the society. Its elaborate design was conceived by Major Pierre L'Enfant, a French-born architect, who was also responsible for designing the layout of the streets of Washington DC.
This example belonged to Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish-born soldier who fought in the war and would go on to become the chief engineer at the West Point military academy. Appointed brigadier general in 1783 - the year the society was founded - he was initiated into the order personally by George Washington as commander in chief of the Continental Army.
The current auction record for one of these illustrious medals stands at $5.3m, a price set in 2007 by a specially commissioned example worn by Washington himself and later presented to the French general Lafayette. It was one of three that Washington owned, the most commonly worn being the diamond-encrusted example that is still passed down to the president of the society to this day.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a brilliant signed lottery ticket from George Washington, as well as authentic strands of the president's hair.
