(1763) Silver Medal Betts-443, Morro Castle

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,410 XF45 02-16-2017 Heritage Auctions

Description

Betts-443 in silver commemorates the Battle of Morro Castle, the climactic engagement during the British siege of Havana in 1762. The massive stone fortress of El Morro guarded the entrance to Havana harbor and had to be reduced before the city could be taken. British forces besieged the castle for weeks under brutal Caribbean heat, losing thousands of men to disease before finally breaching the walls through mining operations. The fall of Morro Castle on July 30, 1762, opened Havana to British occupation, and the capture of Cuba was the most valuable military prize of the Seven Years' War. The silver medal commemorates this dramatic siege with imagery depicting the fortress, the explosion of the mine that breached its walls, or the subsequent British assault. Morro Castle medals are significant both as military commemoratives and as documents of the brief period of British control over Cuba.

Rarity Notes

Silver Morro Castle medal. Dramatic siege subject. Scarce and popular with Seven Years War collectors.

Cross References

Betts-443; PCGS #521949