NNP Blog
Feb
24
2023
Thomas Jefferson’s Comitia Americana List Available on NNP
Courtesy of Roger Burdette, we have added a 1787 Jefferson memorandum that details the Comitia Americana medal set. Located in the Jefferson papers at the Library of Congress, the document appears new to this writer; although a sharp-eyed E-Sylum reader may likely note otherwise. In any case, Jefferson’s Memorandum summarizes congressional resolutions for individual medals and describes the designs and mottos. Two medals from the Adams-Bentley list are unnoted, namely the Henry Lee and Diplomatic medals. The description for the FRANKLIN NATUS BOSTON medal indicates that COMITIA AMERICANA resides in the reverse exergue; on known examples it does not. Jefferson refers to the Libertas Americana as the “Declaration of Independence” medal and does not identify “Libertas Americana” as the obverse legend. Other discrepancies likely exist, and this document is worthy of further study.
Link to Memorandum on Medals for George Washington on NNP: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/623925
Link to Memorandum on Medals for George Washington on NNP: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/623925