250th Anniversary Commemorative Coins
These commemoriative coins depict George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau, or Marquis de Lafayette on one side
and a quintasential American Revolutionary War soldier on the reverse.
Designed by John A. Randazzo to recognize Connecticut and the historical significance these
4 individuals had on the creation of our country.
In addition to the well-known Americans,
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson,
the French directly committed a massive number
of troops, naval fleets. and most notably independent volunteers Marquis de Lafayette
and Comte de Rochambeau who served as both vital military leaders and the bridges between
the two cultures.
In June 1775, the Second Continental Congress unanimously appointed Washington Commander-in-Chief. His prior military experience in the French and Indian War, combined with his status as a prominent Virginia businessman, positioned him well to unite the northern and southern colonies.
He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1775–1783), solidifying the unification of the colonies and setting vital political precedents for the new republic.
Key battles include Boston, where British troops evacuated to escape cannons on Dorchester Heights. Trenton and Princeton’s surprise attacks were highlighted by the infamous crossing of the Delaware and the battle at Valley Forge. Finally in 1781 at Yorktown, Washingtion and Rochambeau trapped the British, securing the decisive victory that effectively ended the war.
Inspired by the American fight for liberty, The Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat, defied the King of France and sailed to the colonies at his own expense in 1777. In 1779, Lafayette successfully lobbied King Louis XVI for formal military and financial backing. He returned to America with thousands of French troops and a formidable naval fleet.
The Siege of Yorktown (1781) - Lafayette’s most critical military contribution occurred in 1781 during the Siege of Yorktown where his troops blocked British General Lord Cornwallis, allowing Washington and French General Rochambeau to arrive and force Cornwallis’s surrender—the defining victory of the Revolutionary War.
Commissioned as a major general at age 19, he became George Washington’s trusted confidant due to his strategic insights and remains celebrated as the Hero of Two Worlds: France and the USA.
Thomas Jefferson was a political philosopher and a key leader during the American Revolution. He is best known as the primary author of the
Declaration of Independence.
At age 33, he served in the Second Continental Congress and drafted a document explaining and justifying the colonies' separation from Great Britain. He provided the ideological foundation for the rebellion by asserting that all people possess natural rights, including
"Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Published in 1774, this document argued that the British Parliament had no authority to govern the colonies and laid the groundwork for the Constitution.
During the Revolutionary War, Jefferson served as a delegate to the Virginia legislature. While in France, he supported the adoption of the United States Constitution on the condition that the Bill of Rights be added.
Born July 1, 1725, in Orléanais, France. Compte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and career military officer. In July of 1780, Comte de Rochambeau was dispatched by King Louis XVI to command the 5,500-man French expeditionary force, the first major contingent of French land forces as negotiated by Layfette.
They arrived in Newport, Rhode Island in 1781. Rochambeau pivoted the allied strategy from a planned attack on New York City to a southern march alongside General George Washingto to trap British General Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Despite holding senior rank to General George Washington in the Frenchmilitary, Rochambeau deferred to himas his superior; illustrative of the mutual respect and coordinated planning that became one of the most effective alliances of the war.
