AS AMERICA APPROACHES ITS 250TH ANNIVERSARY, A 1776 CONTINENTAL DOLLAR AND 1783 LIBERTAS AMERICANA MEDAL CAPTURE THE OPTIMISM, INGENUITY, AND HARD-WON INDEPENDENCE OF A NEW NATION
By Charles Epting | June 16, 2026
As the United States prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of its founding, Heritage Auctions will present an extraordinary series of landmark sales celebrating the people, artifacts, and moments that shaped the American story. Headlining the series is Liberty & Legacy: Celebrating 250 Years of the American Spirit, a sweeping auction taking place June 25 and featuring 94 foundational documents, iconic relics, presidential artifacts, wartime archives, early Americana, and objects connected to defining moments in the nation’s development. From the birth of the republic to the emergence of the United States as a global power, the sale offers an unparalleled material narrative of the American experience.
Liberty & Legacy: Celebrating 250 Years of the American Spirit, Heritage’s June 25 auction honoring the United States’ semiquincentennial, features a 1776 Continental Dollar in silver.
Among the auction highlights is an extraordinary 1776 Continental Dollar struck in silver, one of only four known examples and among the most important coins associated with the birth of the United States. Originating from the legendary Henry Warshaw Collection, the Continental Dollar occupies a singular place in American numismatic history and is widely believed to have been designed by Benjamin Franklin himself. Bearing the motto “Mind Your Business” and 13 interlocking rings representing the colonies, the coin stands among the earliest expressions of the new nation’s identity and ideals, symbolizing independence, unity, and the aspirations of a fledgling republic determined to establish itself on the world stage.
“Of extraordinary historical importance, this piece stands as the first silver dollar of the United States and the earliest expression of the monetary system that would shape the nation’s future,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “More than a coin, it is a declaration struck in metal, embodying independence, ingenuity, and the bold promise of a new country.”
This circa 1783 Libertas Americana silver medal, graded MS64+ CAC, is possibly the finest known example.
Also hailing from the Henry Warshaw Collection is the auction’s circa 1783 Libertas Americana silver medal. Conceived by Benjamin Franklin while serving as America’s ambassador to France, the medal was intended as more than a commemorative keepsake. It was a declaration to the world that a new nation had arrived. Franklin envisioned it as a lasting monument to the American Revolution and to the alliance with France that helped secure independence.
Engraved by renowned French artist Augustin Dupré, the medal transforms the story of the Revolution into classical allegory. On the obverse, Liberty appears as a youthful woman with flowing hair beneath the inscription Libertas Americana, accompanied by the date July 4, 1776. The reverse is even more dramatic: An infant Hercules, representing the young United States, strangles two serpents while Minerva, symbolizing France, shields him from a lion representing Great Britain. Below are the dates of two decisive American victories — Saratoga and Yorktown — the military turning points that changed the course of the war.
Franklin personally oversaw the project and distributed examples to influential figures in France, including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. In a letter, he described the medals as a “monumental acknowledgment” of America’s debt to its French allies. Today, the Libertas Americana is widely regarded as the most important American medal ever produced. Its influence can be seen in some of the earliest designs of the United States Mint, and its symbolism remains as potent as it was nearly two and a half centuries ago.
Henry Warshaw (left) with Andrew Martin, chancellor of St. Louis’ Washington University. The school will receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Warshaw’s 1776 Continental Dollar and 1783 Libertas Americana medal.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the medal, along with the auction’s 1776 Continental Dollar, will be donated to Warshaw’s alma mater, Washington University, where he serves as a trustee. Washington University is the home of the Eric P. Newman numismatic portal, which aims to be the world’s largest freely accessible online archive of numismatic information.
Taken together, the 1776 Continental Dollar and 1783 Libertas Americana medal represent two of the most powerful symbols of the nation’s founding ever produced. One announced the emergence of an independent American economy; the other celebrated the military victories and international alliances that secured that independence. Conceived within a span of just a few years and both closely associated with one of America’s Founding Fathers, the pieces embody the ideals, ambitions, and diplomatic triumphs that transformed a collection of colonies into a sovereign nation. As America approaches its semiquincentennial, few artifacts offer a more tangible connection to the hopes and achievements of the Revolutionary generation.
“These are not simply numismatic treasures. They are among the most important surviving objects from the founding era of the United States,” Maddalena says. “To have examples of this caliber, with this provenance, offered together as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary is a truly extraordinary moment.”
