1779 Medal Rhode Island - Wreath Below Ship Brass

Coin Details

Description

Struck in brass — a copper-zinc alloy that gives this medal a distinctive golden appearance — this 15-gram, 32 mm Rhode Island Ship medal features the wreath ornament below the ship on the obverse, placing it in the "Wreath Below" die family. Cataloged as Whitman 8530 and PCGS #587, the brass composition makes this variety scarce within the broader Rhode Island Ship medal series, where bronze examples are more frequently encountered. The medal commemorates the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island, produced in the Netherlands for a European audience keenly following the American Revolution. The obverse scene of a ship in Narragansett Bay symbolizes the British naval presence that American and French forces sought to dislodge, while the reverse map details the geographic theater of the engagement around Newport and the bay's islands. Brass strikings of 18th-century medals typically represent either intentional compositional variety — mints would strike runs in multiple metals to satisfy different price points for collectors and commemorative buyers — or reflect the use of available planchet stock at the striking facility. The plain edge finish is consistent across most Rhode Island Ship medal compositions. This piece belongs to the Post-1776 Private and Regional Issues (1778-1820) series and represents one of the scarcer metal variants sought by collectors assembling a complete composition set of this historically significant Revolutionary War commemorative.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Brass composition.

Cross References

Whitman 8530