In 1876 la Cour could demonstrate 12-fold telegraphy with his system, and the Great Nordic Telegraph Company was interested in it for some time. However, only the Danish Railroad Company seems to have used his invention in Denmark. After the disappointment on the American market, he produced a new invention, the phonic wheel – a synchronous motor driven by a tuning fork, which used an electromagnet to rotate the cogwheel of the motor by one tooth for each vibration. With two synchronous phonic wheels at a distance, a multitude of telegraphic devices was possible. This time there were no problems with the patent. The invention was produced in August 1875, patented in 1877, and the details were published in the book "The Phonic Wheel" in 1878 in a Danish and a French edition. At that time the invention was adopted by the American company The Delany Synchronous multiple Telegraph, and a new fight of priority arose. In 1886 the Franklin Institute awarded la Cour the John Scott Legacy Medal for the phonic wheel and at the same time presented Delany with the Elliott Cresson Medal for the synchronism, a decision la Cour protested against.