1670 British Colonization Medal. Betts-44. Gold, 41.7 mm. AU-58 (PCGS). 781.8 grains. A spectacular 17th century English medal, one of only two privately held gold specimens traced. Rich and even yellow gold with deeply lustrous surfaces on both sides. The obverse jugate portraits of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza are exceptionally rendered in high relief, and the fields show only trivial lines and evidence of handling. This is superior to the only other one we know of, a rim bruised example (ex Sothebys, October 1976) that brought $38,187 in the January 2013 Heritage John Adams sale. Struck from the early and unbroken state of the die; given the numbers of these that exist in silver from a broken obverse, it is likely some restriking of this medal was accomplished in the years after 1670. However, this isnt one of them.<p><p>This medal was designed and struck several years after the union of Charles II of England to his Portuguese bride. The reverse legend, translated by Betts as "the Briton dispersed over the globe," references the British Empires presence around the world. The legend is accompanied by a map that includes Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, and the east coast of North America - notably including the Chesapeake Bay. (Antarctica is also included, apparently aspirationally.) By 1670, New England and Virginia were well established, the Catholic colony in Maryland was thriving, and Charlestown was the newly founded capital of Carolina, named for King Charles II himself.<p><p>This is the earliest collectible gold Betts medal, though with a known population of two pieces, calling it collectible may be a stretch. The short series of gold Betts medals includes the rarest of the rare, and any collector with ideas of chasing these special medals in a serious way should pursue this piece aggressively. PCGS# 613804. <strong>To view supplemental information and all items from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, click<a href="https://stacksbowers.com/sydney-f-martin-collection/"target=’_blank’> here.</a></strong> From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from Superior Stamp and Coins sale of June 1976, lot 2287; our (Bowers and Merenas) sale of the Lucien M. LaRiviere Collection, Part III, May 2001, lot 1004; our (Stacks) Americana sale, January 2004, lot 2459.
