Comitia Americana Medals

The Comitia Americana series memorializes some of the pivotal moments of the American Revolutionary War. The series was created between 1776 and the early 19th century almost exclusively by French artists and artisans at the commission of the United States. The name of the series, Latin for American Congress, denotes that these medals were created after Continental Congressional votes to memorialize the heroism, friendship, and leadership of key American and French revolutionaries.  Each medal was struck either at the Paris Mint or the United States Mint in Philadelphia. The Smithsonian’s National Numismatic Collection currently holds 119 of these medals and 10 commemorative reproductions dating to the 20^th century. The iconography of each medal is deeply neoclassical in its use of heroic and Hellenistic portraiture, symmetrical panoramic battle scenes, and mythic scenes played as Revolutionary battles.