(1758) Silver Medal Betts-415, Oswego Captured

Coin Details

Auction Record

$4,560 AU58 04-03-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

Betts-415 in silver commemorates the recapture of Oswego on Lake Ontario, one of the important British victories in the 1758 campaign during the Seven Years' War. Oswego, a strategic trading post and military position on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in present-day New York, had been captured and destroyed by the French under Montcalm in 1756, a humiliating blow to British prestige. The recapture of the site in 1758 (by forces under Colonel John Bradstreet, who went on to take Fort Frontenac) restored British control of this vital position guarding the Lake Ontario approach to the St. Lawrence Valley. Silver strikings of campaign medals were premium productions intended for officers, officials, or wealthy collectors. The Oswego medal documents one of the less famous but strategically important victories of 1758 that collectively ended French dominance of the Great Lakes frontier.

Rarity Notes

Silver striking of the Oswego Captured medal. Premium composition, scarce. Important Seven Years War piece.

Cross References

Betts-415; PCGS #619526