Super Bowl LX Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California, had a significant numismatic twist, thanks to numismatist Jeff Garrett, president of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Proof silver medal struck by the private Highland Mint and used in the “coin” flip by Referee Shawn Smith to determine opening possession of the ball, during the introduction of the team captains for the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, carries designs from French engraver of currency and medals Augustin Dupré’s 1782 Libertas Americana medal.

Stephanie Johnson, representing the Friends of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, said via email that two months ago that the National Museum of American History was approached by the National Football League with a request to help them honor the nation’s 250th anniversary as part of the coin toss at this year’s Super Bowl LX.

“Our dedicated alumni board member Jeff Garrett helped the NFL source a restrike of a 1782 Libertas Americana medal that honors the war for independence,” according to Johnson. The restrike became the source for engraving the designs to produce dies to strike the Proof silver medal for the Super Bowl ceremony.

Added to the original 1782 designs, on the silver medal’s obverse in the left field, in front of the portrait, is the shield logo of the NFL. Inscribed in block letters above the exergue and below the truncation of Liberty’s portrait are the letters HEADS. On the reverse, TAILS is inscribed in the upper right field. Both obverse and reverse raised devices are frosted against Proof-polished fields.

Following the “coin” toss, the NFL presented the 40.6-millimeter 1-ounce .999 fine silver medal to the National Museum of American History and announced that it will become part of the museum’s National Numismatic Collection.  The museum’s director, Dr. Anthea Hartig, was on hand in Santa Clara at Levi’s Stadium to accept the medal on the playing field.

Additionally, the museum was featured on the TODAY Show the morning of Feb. 6 leading up to the game.

Johnson noted that this was an opportunity to reinforce the important work of the Smithsonian and the role it plays in commemorating the nation’s 250th.

Curator Dr. Ellen Feingold’s corresponding blog post detailing the history of the Libertas Americana medal was promoted on the Smithsonian website at www.americanhistory.si.edu and social media to complement the event.

Garrett agreed that for 2026, the nation’s Semiquincentennial, carrying a design to represent the anniversary was appropriate for the medal. Garrett said no additional medals would be struck for retail sale.

Libertas Americana

According to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History,  “Benjamin Franklin commissioned the medal as the Revolutionary War was coming to an end. At the time he was serving as Minister to France (1776–1785) and envisioned an inspiring medal that would commemorate the Continental Army’s victories at Saratoga (1777) and Yorktown (1781) as well as honor the crucial role of French support in America’s liberation from British rule.

“The obverse depicts a youthful Liberty with flowing hair flanked by a pole with a freedman’s cap above the date 4 Juil [July] 1776. This design became a model for some of the first U.S. coin designs in 1792–1793 is an enduring image of America’s struggle for freedom and independence.

Additionally, “Franklin described his vision for the reverse in a letter in 1782 writing that he had in mind striking a medal, ‘representing the United States by the figure of an infant Hercules in his cradle, strangling the two serpents; and France by that of Minerva, sitting as his nurse, with her spear and helmet and her robes speckled with a few ‘fleurs-de-lis.’ ” 

The description continues that Franklin hired Dupré and Esprit-Antoine Gibelin to develop the design, which became an allegorical battle scene of the fight for American independence. France is depicted as the goddess Minerva who protects an infant Hercules (America) from a pouncing British lion. A Latin message that translates to “The courageous child is not without the aid of the gods” surrounds the scene.