(1741) Bath Metal Medal Betts-323, Admiral Vernon

Coin Details

Auction Record

$317 AU55 02-16-2017 Heritage Auctions

Description

This bath metal medal, Betts-323, is an Admiral Vernon variety. The Vernon medal series eventually encompassed events beyond Porto Bello and Cartagena, including various skirmishes, political events, and commemorations associated with the broader War of Jenkins' Ear. The series is significant not only for its numismatic content but as a case study in early modern commercial culture and popular political expression. The tradition of striking commemorative medals for New World events began with Spanish and Portuguese pieces in the sixteenth century, expanded through Dutch and French production in the seventeenth, and reached its peak with British issues during the colonial wars. The unauthorized, commercial nature of Vernon medal production — these were not official government issues but private commercial products — makes them important documents of free-market commemoration and political expression in Georgian Britain.

Rarity Notes

Common to scarce. Later Vernon variety.

Cross References

Betts-323