IN CELEBRATION OF THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ADOPTION OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
Our unique Challenge Coin is—rightly so, for such an important anniversary in the history of the United States of America—a massive approx. 64mm × 64mm in size.
The front of the Coin features the legendary Liberty Bell.
FRONT DESIGN – THE LIBERTY BELL
Cast in 1752 for Pennsylvania’s State House, it became an enduring symbol of a new nation.
Its inscription proclaimed liberty throughout the land; its famous crack became legend.
Though silent, its message still rings:
LIBERTY • INDEPENDENCE • FREEDOM
REVERSE DESIGN – WASHINGTON CROSSES THE DELAWARE
On Christmas Night, 1776, General George Washington led some 2,400 Continental troops across the ice-choked Delaware River.
At dawn, they struck the Hessian garrison at Trenton—winning a vital victory that revived the American Revolution.
COURAGE • LIBERTY • INDEPENDENCE
The reverse side of this wonderfully detailed Challenge Coin depicts “The Crossing of the Delaware River—Led by General George Washington.”
The design is inspired by the famous 1851 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. Leutze depicted an early Stars and Stripes flag “The Betsy Ross” in the scene—a historical anachronism, as the crossing took place on December 25–26, 1776, before the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag on June 14, 1777.
In Leutze’s painting, the flag is shown unfurled above Washington’s boat. In our design, we have depicted a bullet-ridden, battle-worn early American flag flying proudly as General George Washington and his Continental troops cross the Delaware.
HISTORICAL NOTE
General George Washington’s Continental Army carried a variety of banners, regimental colours, and flags. One of the most notable flags associated with the Continental cause at the time was the 1775–1777 Continental Colours, also known as the Grand Union Flag.
Like Leutze, we chose not to depict it—particularly because its canton featured the British Union Flag.
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