Washington, Lafayette medal sold for $5.3M

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A gold medal that once belonged to both George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette has been sold at a New York auction for $5.3 million.

The medal, created for Washington by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1783, was presented after Washington's death to Lafayette during his 1824 tour of the United States, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The badge was purchased from Sotheby's by the Fondation Josee et Rene de Chambrun for display at Lafayette's historic home, the Chateau La Grange.

The public will be able to view the medal by appointment at the chateau "as soon as Sotheby's gets it there," said New York gallery owner Christophe Van de Weghe, who bid on behalf of the French group. "The Fondation would be happy to make the medal available on temporary loan to Mount Vernon, so the American public can see it as well."

Lafayette's great-great granddaughter, the Baronne Meunier du Houssoy, consigned the medal to the auction house.