Item: i114191


Authentic Medal of:

United States of America
Franklin Mint’s Official Bicentennial 
Visit Medal
Prime Minister of Ireland – Liam Cosgrave
1976
Proof Silver Medal 51mm (48.60 grams) .925 Silver (1.4436 oz. 
ASW)
Reference: Franklin Mint 2302 Cf N# 201592 
LIAM 
COSGRAVE PRIME MINISTER OF IRELAND, Liam facing 1/2 right, Irish Harp 
emblem to right.
UNITED STATES BICENTENNIAL VISIT MARCH 1976, Liberty 
Bell with mint mark on right side of bell under bell holder.
Edge 
Lettering:
GRAINS STERLING 750 2302

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate 
of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

Liam 
Cosgrave (13 April 1920 – 4 October 2017) was an 
Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977, 
Leader of Fine Gael from 1965 to 1977, Leader of the Opposition from 
1965 to 1973, Minister for External Affairs from 1954 to 1957, 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce and 
Government Chief Whip from 1948 to 1951. He served as a Teachta Dála 
(TD) from 1943 to 1981.

Born in Castleknock, Dublin, Cosgrave was 
the son of W. T. Cosgrave, the first President of the Executive Council 
in the newly formed Irish Free State. After qualifying as a barrister he 
began a political career. He was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1943 
general election and sat in opposition alongside his father. In the 
first inter-party government in 1948, Cosgrave was appointed as 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach John A. Costello. He became a 
cabinet member in 1954 when he was appointed Minister for External 
Affairs. The highlight of his three-year tenure was Ireland’s successful 
entry into the United Nations. In 1965, Cosgrave was the unanimous 
choice of his colleagues to succeed James Dillon as leader of Fine Gael. 
He lost the 1969 general election to the incumbent Taoiseach Jack Lynch, 
but won the 1973 general election and became Taoiseach in a Fine Gael-Labour 
Party government.

The
United States of America (USA), commonly known as the
United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a 
country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major 
self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million 
square miles (9.8 million km²), the United States is the 
world’s third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly 
smaller than the entire continent of Europe’s 3.9 million square miles 
(10.1 million km²). With a population of over 327 million 
people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is 
Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York. 
Forty-eight states and the capital’s federal district are contiguous in 
North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the 
northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and 
across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is 
an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are 
scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching 
across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, 
climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world’s 17 
megadiverse countries.

Paleo-Indians 
migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 
years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century. The United 
States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the 
East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies 
following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, 
which began in 1775, and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 
1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first 
country to gain independence from a European power. The current 
constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, 
collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to 
guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United States embarked 
on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th 
century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, 
and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 
1848.

During 
the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition 
of slavery. By the end of the century, the United States had extended 
into the Pacific Ocean, and its economy, driven in large part by the 
Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish-American War and World 
War I confirmed the country’s status as a global military power. The 
United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the 
first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them 
in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security 
Council. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union 
competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 Moon landing. The 
end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left 
the United States as the world’s sole superpower.

The United 
States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. It is a federal 
republic and a representative democracy, “in which majority rule is 
tempered by minority rights protected by law”. The United States is a 
founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International 
Monetary Fund, Organization of American States (OAS), and other 
international organizations. The United States is a highly developed 
country, with the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP and 
second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for approximately a quarter of 
global GDP. The U.S. economy is largely post-industrial, characterized 
by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although 
the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. The 
United States is the world’s largest importer and the second largest 
exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is only 4.3% of the 
world total, the U.S. holds 33% of the total wealth in the world, the 
largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country. It also 
suffers from growing levels of income inequality and wealth inequality.

The United States ranks among the highest nations in several measures of 
socioeconomic performance, including human development, per capita GDP, 
and productivity per person. The United States is the foremost military 
power in the world, making up a third of global military spending, and 
is a leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally.