(No Date) Bronze Medal Admiral Keppel Victory

Coin Details

Auction Record

$168 VF35 11-21-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

This undated bronze medal honors Admiral Augustus Keppel, a British naval officer whose court-martial and acquittal in 1779 became a major political cause in England during the American Revolution. Keppel commanded the Channel Fleet at the inconclusive Battle of Ushant in 1778 against the French, after which his political enemies — supporters of the government's prosecution of the war against the American colonies — brought charges of misconduct. His acquittal was celebrated as a triumph of opposition Whig politics, and "Keppel Victory" medals were widely produced and distributed. American colonists, who sympathized with the Whig opposition to the war, also collected Keppel medals as political statements. This victory medal represents the intersection of British domestic politics and the American Revolution, documenting how political factions within Britain opposed the war through symbolic actions like celebrating Keppel's vindication against the government's charges.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Keppel Victory medals survive from the Revolutionary era. Connected to both British and American political history.

Cross References

PCGS #926067; Admiral Keppel; Victory Medal; Battle of Ushant 1778; Bronze