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Auction: 368 - The Numismatic Collector's Series e-Auction
Lot: 94

France. Third Republic. Copper Fragment of the Statue of Liberty. 95x30mm. Palette with Auguste Bartholdi monogram at left; in white lettering: FRAGMENT DE CUIVRE DE LA STATUE COLOSSALE DE LA LIBERTÉ EXECUTÉE PAR A. BARTHOLDI 1875-1883. SOUVENIR D'UNE VISITE AUX TRAVAUX. Designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, using a metal frame built by Gustave Eiffel, the Statue of Liberty was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye's comment in 1865 that any monument raised to U.S. independence would best be a joint project of the French and American people. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that France finance the statue and the U.S. provide the site and build the pedestal.
Bartholdi completed the head -- inspired by the Roman goddesses Libertas and Sol Invictus -- and torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed. The head was displayed at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris, while the torch-bearing arm was displayed at the U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 and at Manhattan's Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult in the U.S. until publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the "New York World" launched a donations drive, attracting more than 120,000 contributors.
The statue was built in France and shipped in crates to the U.S. and there assembled on the pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. On October 28, 1886, in a ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland, the Statue of Liberty, one of the modern world's most iconic symbols, was dedicated. This fragment came from the Parisian workshop and was presumably offered by Bartholdi as a souvenir. A rare and truly historical item. About Extremely Fine. (A similar piece, named to the recipient, realized 2,200 Swiss Francs in the November 2019 Numismatica Genevensis Sale, lot 1188).

Estimate

Starting price
$180