Admiral Vernon Medals

About This Series

Commemorating British Admiral Edward Vernon's capture of Portobelo, Panama, on November 22, 1739, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, this vast series ranks among the largest groups of 18th-century commemorative medals ever produced. Over 300 distinct varieties exist in copper and brass, varying by portrait type, reverse inscription, and ship configuration. Produced by numerous Birmingham and London manufacturers, obverses typically portray Vernon in naval uniform, sometimes with other military figures, while reverses depict Portobelo harbor, warships, or allegorical victory scenes. These medals circulated widely in colonial America, where Vernon's fame was such that Lawrence Washington named his plantation Mount Vernon in the admiral's honor. The series provides collectors with an extraordinarily rich field for die variety study, as the proliferation of manufacturers created a complex web of die combinations. Struck primarily in copper and brass with occasional silver specimens, they remain among the most historically significant medallic issues in colonial American numismatics.