BADGE OF THE COLUMBIAN ORDER (TAMMANY SOCIETY)
Silver, 1789
D. 2 7/8 inches, convex

AMMANY Hall had its beginnings as the Tammany Society, an organization also called the Columbian Order. The name Tammany was taken from that of a chief of the Delaware Indians whose not inconsiderable accomplishments were raised to the level of mythic deeds by a one-time United States Senator and Professor at the College of New York named Samuel L. Mitchill, who published a highly romanticized account of the Indian's life in 1795.

The Columbian Order (Tammany Society) was organized in 1789 as a populist reaction to the Society of Cincinnati, which was founded by officers of the Continental Army the eldest son of which inherited membership in the Society. The Columbian Order was opposed to hereditary privileges, and its members came from the ranks of the enlisted men of the Revolutionary Army.

Only about a half dozen of these badges (which were intended to be worn on a ribbon around the neck) are known to exist today. Engraved on them is the date October 12, 1492, the word Beware above a coiled snake, and the motto Where Liberty Dwells There is my Country.

$15,000

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