Undated (ca. 1783) Captain James Cook Memorial Medal. Betts-553. MS-64 BN (PCGS). 43.2 mm. Sandy olive and gray-brown patina to both sides, the surfaces retain faint remnants of faded orange-apricot color in the protected areas around the design elements. Fully struck and smooth in hand, a bit more vibrancy to the surfaces may have secured a full Gem Mint State grade from PCGS. Medals of this type were struck at the behest of the Royal Society, whose members had unanimously elected Cook a fellow before his untimely death at the hands of native Hawaiians. The Royal Society awarded Cook the Copley gold medal for his work keeping his crew healthy and free of scurvy; his paper on the subject included inferences that fresh fruit and beer could prevent the disease, ideas that were revolutionary at the time. The Royal Society commissioned this medal to be engraved by Lewis Pingo and had 13 examples struck in gold, 289 in silver, and 500 in bronze. Undoubtedly only a tiny percentage of the bronze specimens remain in the condition offered here, making this piece worthy of the attentions of both the curious and advanced collectors of the series.
