(1708) Medal Danish West Indies, Silver

Coin Details

Auction Record

$14,400 AU Details 08-24-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

This silver medal dated 1708 relates to the Danish West Indies, the Caribbean colonial territory comprising the islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix that Denmark administered from the seventeenth century until their sale to the United States in 1917 (becoming the U.S. Virgin Islands). The early eighteenth century was a period of active Danish colonial expansion in the Caribbean, with Saint Thomas serving as a major entrepot for Caribbean trade and Saint Croix developing into a prosperous sugar-producing colony. Medals from this era of Danish Caribbean administration are exceptionally rare numismatic artifacts that document the European colonial presence in the West Indies. The silver composition indicates a presentation or commemorative piece of some significance, as base-metal issues were far more common for colonial circulation. Danish West Indies numismatic material is collected within both the Scandinavian and Caribbean colonial specialties, with crossover appeal to collectors of early American colonial and territorial issues given the eventual U.S. acquisition of the islands.

Rarity Notes

Early eighteenth-century silver medal from the Danish West Indies colonial period. Extremely rare as a colonial-era medallic issue. Few examples are known in private hands.

Cross References

PCGS #921154; Danish West Indies colonial