1778-1779 (ca. 1780) Rhode Island Ship Medal. Betts-563, W-1740. Wreath Below Ship. Brass. MS-64 (NGC). This gorgeous near-Gem example is richly toned in tobacco-brown patina over surfaces that also exhibit a bold satin texture. Both sides exhibit microscopic roughness in the planchet, and as made feature that provides a rustic appearance to in hand viewing. All design elements are fully rendered, the strike remarkably sharp for a type that nearly always displays at least some softness. Free of detracting blemishes with outstanding eye appeal, only the strongest bids will be competitive when this lovely piece crosses our auctioneers block.<p>The popular Rhode Island Ship medals continue to fascinate and baffle numismatists. They are believed to have been struck around 1780, though by whom and for what reason remains unclear. The reverse of the medal depicts the Continental Armys withdrawal from Aquidneck Island in August 1778 surrounded by the British fleet commanded by Admiral Lord Richard Howe. The Americans retreat was necessitated by the withdrawal of a covering French fleet under the Comte DEstaing to Newport after receiving considerable damage in a storm. The obverse has been the subject of debate as to what it portrays. For generations, it has been assumed that it is a satirical representation of Lord Howes flagship fleeing Narragansett Bay in 1779, an interpretation in part based on the earliest versions of this medal bearing the word VLUGTENDE ("fleeing") underneath Howes ship. The most recent scholarship asserts that instead of a pro-American medal, it is actually a British medal intended for the Dutch market, or even an entirely Dutch product created to help garner support to the British cause in the global war for empire that raged throughout the 1770s and 1780s and of which the American Revolution was only a small part. With this current interpretation of the medal, it would appear that if it was intended to influence Dutch feelings towards a more pro-British position, it failed in its purpose. Often at loggerheads with each other, British and Dutch relations were very tense, culminating in December 1780 when the Dutch joined other European nations in the League of Armed Neutrality. The League was established as a counter to the British Royal Navys policy of intercepting neutral shipping in search of French supplies.<p>Rhode Island Ship medals with VLUGTENDE are of the highest rarity, often with decades between auction appearances. The transitional type with VLUGTENDE removed, and the later modified die with the wreath, offered here, are of roughly similar rarity with most examples in the VF to AU grade range. Mint State specimens are notable rarities, which fact confirms the significance of this offering for the advanced collector.
