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 The Continental Congress delegated to John Adams and Thomas Jefferson the task of ordering the first Congressional Gold Medals and Presentation Swords, to be expertly crafted in France. Adams writes this letter from the Paris suburb of Auteuil just weeks before sailing to London to begin service as the first U.S. Minister to Great Britain.
John Adams. Autograph Letter Signed, to Messieurs Van den Yvers. Auteuil, France, May 19, 1785. Inventory # 21865 $79,000 “This is to request you, to pay to Coll David Humphreys ... upon the Orders of his Excellency Thomas Jefferson Esqr, Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Court of Versailles a sum not exceeding one Thousand Pounds Sterling, to pay for certain Medals and Swords awarded by Congress to the Generals Washington, Gates and Green and other officers in Commemoration of Great Events, and charge the same to Messieurs Wilhem and Jan Willink, Nicholas and Jacob Vanstaphorst, and De la Lande & Fynje of Amsterdam to be by them charged to the United States of America.” Congress had voted to award six Gold Medals during the Revolutionary War, the first to George Washington on March 25, 1776, for his success in forcing the British to evacuate Boston. Horatio Gates was honored for his triumph at Saratoga, compelling Burgoyne to surrender his army on October 17, 1777. Nathanael Greene’s medal commemorated his victory at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781. On February 20, 1787, Jefferson wrote Adams from Paris, requesting an additional line of credit to complete the costly medals. Parisian artist Pierre Duvivier struck the first Congressional Gold Medal (now owned by the Boston Public Library) in 1789. On one side is an image based on the famous bust by Jean Houdon, with a Latin inscription for “The American Congress to George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of its armies, the assertors of freedom.” The other side shows a mounted Washington overlooking Boston Harbor. Jefferson returned from France in 1789 to become the nation’s first Secretary of State. He presented Washington with his Gold Medal on March 21, 1790. Adams returned in the same year to serve as the first vice president.
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