1783, France. Rare Silver "The Montgolfier Brothers' Balloon" Medal. PCGS SP-53 for Sale

On eBay Now...

1783, France. Rare Silver "The Montgolfier Brothers' Balloon" Medal. PCGS SP-53 For Sale

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

1783, France. Rare Silver "The Montgolfier Brothers' Balloon" Medal. PCGS SP-53:
$359.00

Untitled Document

1783, France. Rare Silver "The Montgolfier Brothers' Balloon" Medal. PCGS SP-53!

Mint Year: dated 1783, struck 1860s.
Cndition: Certified and graded by PCGS as SP-53!
Denomination: Medal - Montgolfier Brothers & their Hot Air Baloon Demonstartions in Paris during 1783.
Weight: ca. 36gm
Diameter: 42mm
Material: Silver

Obverse: Conjoined busts of the Montgolfier Brothers Joseph & Etien left.
Legend: JOSE · ET ETIEN · MONTGOLFIER POUR AVOIR RENDU L'AIR NAVIGABLE ("Joseph and Etien Montgolfier, for having rendered air navigable.")

Reverse: Personification of Paris seated right, gesturing towards male figure reclining left in cloud; at center, the Montgolfier's balloon; on ground to right, lion seated left, head right.
Legend: ATTONITUS ORBIS TERRARUM ("The world astonished.")
Exergue: ITINERE PER AERA FELICITER/ TENTATO ANNO. MDCCLXXXIII ("A journey through air felicitously attempted in the year 1783.")

To make a public demonstration and to claim its invention the brothers constructed a globe-shaped balloon of sackcloth tightened with three thin layers of paper inside. The envelope could contain nearly 790m3 (28,000cuft) of air and weighed 225kg (496lb). It was constructed of four pieces (the dome and three lateral bands) and held together by 1,800 buttons. A reinforcing fish net of cord covered the outside of the envelope.

On 4 June 1783, they flew the balloon at Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries from the états particuliers. The flight covered 2km (1.2mi), lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 1,600–2,000m (5,200–6,600ft). Word of their success quickly reached Paris. Étienne went to the capital to make further demonstrations and to solidify the brothers' claim to the invention of flight. Joseph, given his unkempt appearance and shyness, remained with the family. Étienne was the epitome of sober virtues ... modest in clothes and manner...

In collaboration with the wallpaper manufacturer Jean-Baptiste Réveillon, Étienne constructed a 37,500-cubic-foot (1,060m3) envelope of taffeta coated with a varnish of alum for fireproofing. The balloon was sky blue and decorated with golden flourishes, signs of the zodiac, and suns. The design showed the intervention of Réveillon. The next test was on 11 September from the grounds of la Folie Titon, close to Réveillon's house. There was some concern about the effects of flight into the upper atmosphere on living creatures. The king proposed to launch two convicted criminals, but it is most likely that the inventors decided to send a sheep, a duck, and a rooster aloft first.

On 19 September 1783, the Aérostat Réveillon was flown with the first living beings in a basket attached to the balloon: a sheep called Montauciel ("Climb-to-the-sky"), a duck and a rooster. The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology. The duck was expected to be unharmed by being lifted and was included as a control for effects created by the aircraft rather than the altitude. The rooster was included as a further control as it was a bird that did not fly at high altitudes. The demonstration was performed at the royal palace in Versailles, before King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette and a crowd.The flight lasted approximately eight minutes, covered two miles (3.2km), and obtained an altitude of about 1,500 feet (460m). The craft landed safely after flying.

The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (French pronunciation: [ʒozɛf miʃɛl mɔ̃ɡɔlfje]; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (French pronunciation: [ʒak etjɛn mɔ̃ɡɔlfje]; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune Annonay in Ardèche, France. They invented the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique, which launched the first confirmed piloted ascent by humans in 1783, carrying Jacques-Étienne.

Joseph-Michel also invented the self-acting hydraulic ram (1796) and Jacques-Étienne founded the first paper-making vocational school. Together, the brothers invented a process to manufacture transparent paper.