(1880-1898) Silver Medal Betts-50, Ile de Cayenne

Coin Details

Description

This silver restrike of the Ile de Cayenne medal (Betts-50) was produced at the Paris Mint during the 1880-98 restrike period. The original medal commemorated French colonial activities on the Ile de Cayenne in French Guiana, South America. Cayenne served as the administrative capital of French Guiana and was a strategically important colonial outpost in the Caribbean and South American theater. The island changed hands multiple times between the French, Dutch, and English during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Betts-50 documents this chapter of French colonial history in the Americas, connecting the broader narrative of European competition for New World territories. The survival rate of colonial-era medals varies dramatically by material and original production quantity, with gold presentations being the rarest and bronze issues struck in larger quantities being relatively more available to collectors. Silver restrikes from the 1880-98 period are scarcer than their bronze counterparts.

Rarity Notes

Paris Mint silver restrike, 1880-98 period. French Guiana colonial subject. Rare.

Cross References

Betts-50; Ile de Cayenne; French Guiana; French colonial Americas