It isn’t too often we associate the Midwestern city of Cincinnati with numismatics, but an item in the mail bid sale by Early American History Auctions Inc. held last December drew attention to the burg through a document, rather than a numismatic item, relating to Cincinnati.

The document in the auction was a Society of Cincinnati membership certificate signed by George Washington as president (of the organization) and Henry Knox as Secretary, dated Oct. 31, 1785.

According to the document, “John Stotesbury Esquire is a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, instituted by the officers of the American Army, at the period of its dissolution, as well to commemorate the great event which gave independence to North America, as for the laudable purpose of inculcating the duty of laying down in peace arms assumed for public defense and uniting in acts of brotherly affection and bonds of perpetual friendships the members constituting the same...”

What does such a document have to do with numismatics, you ask? Although some privately-struck pioneer gold coins relate to the city, in this situation it is the quasi-military decorations that relate the document to our hobby.

Cincinnatus is a possibly legendary Roman Republic citizen-general who was admired as a model by George Washington for simplicity, ability and republican virtue. According to unreliable sources, Cincinnatus was appointed dictator of Rome in 458 B.C. during an emergency.

Being a great guy, Cincinnatus allegedly stepped down from his powerful political position at the end of the emergency and resumed his quiet life as a humble farmer. Too bad Washington didn’t do the same after winning the Revolutionary War, but nevertheless he used Cincinnatus as a role model of sorts.

The Society of Cincinnati was founded in 1783, based on the virtues of this Roman, to reward Revolutionary War officers serving under Washington.

Cincinnati was established officially in 1788, initially known as Losantiville. Fort Washington was built at Losantiville in 1789 to house army troops. In 1790 the city was renamed Cincinnati after the name of the society, as some society members relocated to the Ohio location to retire.

Several different military decorations were issued to society members and to their descendants over the next two centuries. The organization was surprisingly European and aristocratic in nature, considering it was meant to represent republican ideals in the newly-founded democracy of the United States. Only the firstborn male offspring of a member was eligible to become a member of the society following the death of his predecessor.

The challenge to the collector today is to find any of these Society of Cincinnati decorations or ribbons. The document signed by Washington is indeed scarce and valuable, considering it bears Washington’s signature, but the society decorations are almost as elusive.

To give the reader some idea of just how elusive these decorations are, the author of this article was unable to find even a single web site on the Internet on the Society of Cincinnati. (This may open a floodgate if some readers find what I didn’t.)

Military medals and decorations are considered to be part of numismatics more by tradition than by definition. The decorations have traditionally been part of many a famous collection. The American Numismatic Society in New York has a significant collection of military decorations from all over the world.

The beginner in this field may not realize that many older decorations are made of enamel and adorned with precious metals and precious stones. The higher the rank of the recipient or the level of the decoration, the more expensive the adornments on the decoration may be.

Military and political orders are also considered to be part of numismatics. The Order of the Golden Fleece appears on many crown-size silver and gold coins of Europe struck between the 17th and 19th century. The order itself is made of gold.

The Society of Cincinnati decorations are some of the more challenging such medals of the United States to be collected.

Richard Giedroyc is a numismatic writer, researcher, auction cataloger and coin dealer. He has been in the hobby and business most of his life, now having more than three decades experience in this fascinating hobby field. During this time Giedroyc has been the owner of Paris Bergman Galleries, owner of Classical Coin Newsletter, international editor of Coin World and owner of Giedroyc-Anderson Interesting World Coins. He is currently a numismatic consultant. He has written more than 2,000 byline numismatic stories and contributed to several coin catalogs.

Richard Giedroyc is a numismatic writer, researcher, auction cataloger and coin dealer. He has been in the hobby and business most of his life, now having more than three decades’ experience in this fascinating hobby field. During this time Giedroyc has been the owner of Paris Bergman Galleries, owner of Classical Coin Newsletter, international editor of Coin World and owner of Giedroyc-Anderson Interesting World Coins. He is currently a numismatic consultant. He has written more than 2,000 byline numismatic stories and contributed to several coin catalogs.

Certificate signed by Washington