“1778-1779” (Circa 1780) Rhode Island Ship Medal. Betts-562, W-1740. Wreath Below Ship. Brass. MS-63 (NGC).，). Lustrous brassy mint color on the obverse is dominant, while the reverse is mostly deep iridescent brown with hints of original mint color, the overall quality superb for one of these "corrected" types with the ornamental wreath hiding the still very visible letters "vlugtende" that were originally in the die. This corrected type is much scarcer than the usually seen type with "vlugtende" scooped from the medal, and this is far nicer than usually encountered. A thin die crack from Y[LAND] downwards is noted and is rarely encountered. The mysterious Rhode Island Ship medals or tokens are generally thought to have been struck in England circa 1780 for a Dutch speaking market. One side of the medal depicts the retreat of the American Continental Army from Rhode Island in 1778 while the other shows the flagship of Britains Admiral Lord Richard Howe. Although the depiction of Howes flagship is generally thought to be satirical --thus alluding to the eventual British flight from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island in 1779 -- some numismatic researchers suggests that the medal is entirely pro British in design and intent. One of these numismatists, John Kleeberg (quoted in Q. David Bowers Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins, 2009) even suggests that the Rhode Island Ship medals are of Dutch manufacture and were produced at a time when that country was debating whether or not to enter the wider War for Empire that included the American Revolution (the Dutch eventually declared war on Great Britain).<br /><br />，PCGS# 576.，NGC Census: 1; none finer.，
