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John Hancock Medallion
$25 per .999 Fine Silver Half Ounce (15.55 gram) Medallion

Shipping is $7.00 Priority Mail for One to Twenty Medallions - Free for orders over Twenty

© Stanley L. Klos has a worldwide copyright on the artwork in these Medallions not legal tender.

Medallion Obverse: John Hancock of Massachusetts was elected President of the United States, in Congress Assembled November 23, 1785 serving until June 5, 1786.  Hancock also served as President of the Continental Congress from May 25th, 1775 to October 29, 1777.   John Hancock was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on January 12, 1737 and died there October 8, 1793.  Due to ill health John Hancock never presided over Congress during his tenure as President.  Foreign Secretary John Jay was quite unhappy about Hancock’s absence from Congress writing John Adams in Europe: Mr. Hancock is still at Boston, and it is not certain when he may be expected; this is not a pleasant circumstance, for though the chair is well filled by a chairman, yet the President of Congress should be absent as little and seldom as possible. Despite this Hancock neither resigned his office or ever appeared in New York.  His duties were performed by two chairmen - David Ramsay from November 23, 1785 until ­May 12, 1786 and Nathaniel Gorham from May 15 until June 5, 1786.  - for more information visit www.johnhancock.org.

Born in a Tavern and ending in a Tavern The United States Founding governments
occupied 11 different capitol buildings experienced 15 years of challenges that included war,
hyper-inflation, a failed constitution, judicial corruption, armed citizen and U.S. Army rebellion. 

Medallion Reverse:  The Fite House, in Baltimore, was the Capitol of the Continental Congress from December 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777. The house was built on the southeast corner of Market St. (now Baltimore St.) and Liberty Streets, by Henry Fite in 1770.  It was converted to a tavern by Jacob Fite the youngest son of Henry.  The tavern was a “three-story and attic brick house, of about 92 feet front on Market Street, by about 50 or 55 feet depth on the side streets, with cellar under the whole; having 14 rooms, exclusive of kitchen, wash-house and other out-buildings, including a stable for 30 horses.” [i] The house was selected as a Capitol building after the Continental Congress fled to Baltimore due to a 1776 British Campaign to capture Philadelphia. 

"At the date of the Revolution, Market Street, now Baltimore, offered to view a respectable thorofare, along which a double line of houses straggled as far as the southeast corner on Market, now Baltimore, and Liberty Streets, where Mr. Jacob Fite had built a house, sufficiently large to accommodate the Continental Congress, which held its sessions therein December, 1776. This house, being then the farthest west, and one of the largest in the town, was called, for a long time, Congress Hall. "[ii]

 The majority of the house was lost in the great Baltimore fire of 1904.[iii]

The Continental Congress was forced to flee Philadelphia as the British had overwhelmed George Washington in New York and Fort Lee forcing him to retreat through New Jersey, across the Delaware River and into Pennsylvania.  Congress, fearing the imminent fall of Philadelphia, abandoned the city and reconvened in Baltimore at the house of Henry Fite.  The medallion's reverse celebrates George Washington's surprise victory at Trenton on December 26, 1776 that occurred after Continental Troops crossed the Delaware Christmas night.

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