1739 Bronze Medal Admiral Vernon, A-C PBv 46-QQ

Coin Details

Auction Record

$240 XF40 02-21-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1739 bronze medal, cataloged as Adams-Chao PBv 46-QQ, pairs obverse die 46 with double-letter reverse QQ. The forty-sixth portrait die in the PBv series represents the highest or near-highest obverse die number recorded in the entire Vernon medal catalog across all subgroups. This extraordinary die count documents a medal production phenomenon of unprecedented scale for eighteenth-century England. Reverse QQ is deep in the double-letter sequence, confirming coordinated late-phase production. Struck in copper alloy (AE), the PBv 46-QQ variety may represent the absolute apex of Vernon medal die production. The existence of forty-six or more distinct obverse portrait dies for a single medal subgroup defies comparison with any other contemporary English medal series. This variety stands as a monument to the Vernon medal craze's intensity and the commercial ambition of the die sinkers who sustained it. For Vernon medal specialists, the PBv 46-QQ combination is one of the ultimate collecting goals — the outermost recorded variety in the most prolific subgroup of the most extensive medal series in colonial-era British numismatics.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. The highest-numbered PBv obverse die recorded, an ultimate rarity in the Vernon series.

Cross References

A-C PBv 46-QQ; PCGS #930201