Lot Essay
Founded by officers of the Continental army and navy in 1783, the Society of the Cincinnati endeavored to preserve the friendships formed among members during service and to provide for impoverished families of the war. The Society was named after the Roman liberator Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus and the insignia features the Roman hero on a medallion applied to a gold eagle. While the original badge was designed by Major Pierre L'Enfant, later variations of both American and French manufacture, have been produced since then.
A similar but larger (33.5 mm. high) Daughters of the Cincinnati Eagle was sold recently by Stack’s Bowers Galleries on 14 June 2022, lot 1046. For identical model of French silver-gilt miniature eagle please see Minor Myers Jr., The Insignia of The Society of the Cincinnati, 1989, p. 77.
A similar but larger (33.5 mm. high) Daughters of the Cincinnati Eagle was sold recently by Stack’s Bowers Galleries on 14 June 2022, lot 1046. For identical model of French silver-gilt miniature eagle please see Minor Myers Jr., The Insignia of The Society of the Cincinnati, 1989, p. 77.