1817 Medal Rulau E-10A, Veni Vidi Vici

Coin Details

Auction Record

$6,000 MS63BN 08-24-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

Medal commemorating Gregor MacGregor's seizure of Amelia Island, Florida, in June 1817. MacGregor, a Scottish soldier of fortune who had served under Simon Bolivar in Venezuela, assembled roughly 150 mercenaries and briefly captured the island from Spain, raising his self-designed Green Cross of Florida flag. The obverse bears the motto VENI VIDI VICI around the Green Cross emblem. MacGregor's occupation lasted only weeks before he abandoned the island to French pirate Louis-Michel Aury, and the United States Navy reclaimed it in December 1817. Also cataloged as BHM-957 in British Historical Medals. Bronze, 33mm. The 1840s and 1850s saw merchant tokens evolve from simple trade pieces to more elaborate designs, as die sinkers like George H. Lovett and Robert Lovett Jr. elevated the craft. The market for pre-1900 American tokens has strengthened as collectors appreciate the historical narratives embedded in these merchant-issued pieces.

Rarity Notes

Very rare. One of the earliest pieces of American filibuster numismatics, documenting MacGregor's quixotic invasion of Spanish Florida. Cataloged as both Rulau E-10A and BHM-957. Appears infrequently at auction and is sought by collectors of early American military medals, Latin American independence movement items, and Florida territorial history. Fewer than a dozen examples have been traced in modern numismatic literature.

Cross References

Rulau E-10A; PCGS #921203