In 1826, the 90th birthday of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832) coincided with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. These medallions, carrying Carrollton’s profile portrait, were struck in Philadelphia to celebrate the auspicious occasion. The grandson of Charles Carroll the Settler, whose monumental silver flagon is displayed in this cabinet, Charles Caroll of Carrollton was the longest-lived and last surviving signatory of the Declaration. He was also the only Catholic to sign. Charles Carroll was an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. This was not surprising, since his grandfather, along with other Maryland Catholics, had been disenfranchised many years earlier, after the Protestant William and Mary came to the British throne in 1689.