1779 Medal Rhode Island, No Wreath Below Ship MS(PCGS#588)

The Summer 2022 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

2005

等级

XF40

价格

13,238

详细说明

"1778-1779" (ca. 1780) Rhode Island Ship Medal. Betts-562, W-1730. Without Wreath Below Ship. Brass. EF-40 (PCGS). This visually appealing piece exhibits blushes of copper-rose patina to dominant bright brassy-gold color. Light carbon and a bit of surface scaling in isolated peripheral areas is noted for accuracy, but in the absence of significant marks the in hand appearance is quite smooth. Well defined for the grade, we note only light wear that is largely confined to the high points. The overall detail is bold and allows full appreciation of this fascinating, if somewhat enigmatic design. The Rhode Island Ship medals are believed to have been struck around 1780, though by whom and for what reason remains unclear. For generations, it has been assumed that the obverse is a satirical representation of Lord Howe's flagship fleeing Narragansett Bay in 1779, an interpretation in part based on the earliest versions bearing the word VLUGTENDE ("fleeing") underneath Howe's ship. The most recent scholarship asserts that it is actually a British medal intended for the Dutch market, or a Dutch product created to garner support to the British cause in the global war for empire that raged throughout the 1770s and 1780s. It would appear that if it was intended to influence Dutch feelings towards a more pro-British position, it failed. Often at loggerheads with each other, British and Dutch relations were very tense, culminating in December 1780 when the Dutch joined other European nations in the League of Armed Neutrality. Rhode Island Ship medals with VLUGTENDE are of the highest rarity. The transitional type with VLUGTENDE removed, offered here, and the later modified die with the wreath, are of roughly similar rarity with most examples in the VF to AU grade range. Mint State specimens are notable rarities. PCGS# 588. Click here for certification details from PCGS.