1759 Quebec Taken Medal. Betts-421. Gold, 40.0 mm. MS-64 (PCGS). 592.4 grains. Plain edge. A supremely important medal in its most noble format, an incredibly desirable medal struck to mark perhaps the most important battle in the history of North America. When Quebec fell on September 13, 1759, all of French Canada was lost. Montreal was at last indefensible, and the rivers of the French interior would all yield to the British from then on. The English victory in the French and Indian War not only prompted earth-shattering changes around the globe, but set the scene for the American Revolution and all the revolutions that would follow in decades to come: in France, in Latin America, and elsewhere. Fewer than 10,000 men fought on the Plains of Abraham above Quebec that day, but that day altered the course of human history.<p><p>This piece was struck as part of Pingos SPAC series for the Royal Society of Arts. Its obverse salutes the army and navy commanders of the battle that day; General Wolfe lost his life on the Plains of Abraham, as celebrated in a famous painting by Benjamin West. The reverse shows one of the most famous scenes in the realm of medallic art: a winged goddess of Victory crowning a stand of arms with a laurel, at the base of which a bound captive struggles against her confinement. Its simple and incredible evocative. On this piece, the designs are supremely well realized, standing out boldly from highly reflective surfaces toned the most magnificent shade of rich yellow gold. Aside from scattered lintmarks, mostly seen at the peripheries, there are no serious marks. The quality of this piece is breathtaking.<p><p>Just four examples of this medal are known in gold: this piece, the EF LaRiviere-Ford specimen, the nice example John W. Adams bought from the February 1994 Hoare sale in Canada, and the specimen given to Major General George Townshend that is now impounded in the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. Townshend was one of three officers who ranked high enough to answer directly to General James Wolfe during the siege; the others were Robert Monckton and James Murray (later the governor of Canada). Those two were likely among the high ranking officers who were given gold medals after the action, but the number produced was undoubtedly small. The evocative designs, recalling the Judea Capta issues, were conceived largely by Thomas Brand Hollis, a numismatist whose collection was sold by Sothebys in 1817, 13 years after his death. Hollis cabinet contained a number of Betts-listed types; we wonder if he saved a gold specimen of this medal for himself. PCGS# 921156. <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 said to be "ex an English nobleman;" our (Stacks) Americana sale of January 2004, lot 2467; Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006.
