1778-1779 (ca. 1780) Rhode Island Ship Medal. Betts-561, W-1725. Vlugtende. Brass. AU-55 (PCGS). 150.9 grains. 32.0 mm. Unique, the only specimen known. A signal rarity in two specialties: early American coins and Betts medals. Attractive mottled medium and darker brown with areas of golden-tan and some patches of maroon-shaded oxidation. The sharpness is exceptional, an indication of both strong strike and little to no wear, with every porthole fully detailed and other fine design elements crisp. The rims are sound and no marks or damage are seen anywhere on either side. The oxidation is typical of the issue and the alloy, as both zinc and copper are highly reactive in the long term. The aspect that makes this singular medal so distinctive is the presence of the word "vlugtende" beneath Howes flagship - a mistake, an error that clouded and confused the whole message of this polemical medal, one that was quickly and completely corrected. With the handcraft required to ensure that this meaning-changing word was effaced from all the medals struck before the die was altered, it is sort of amazing that this piece is as rare as it is, but barring future discoveries it seems clear that this medal is unique. The disconnected nature of the provenance has led some modern cataloguers to hedge their bets and guess there may be two of these. By all indications and logic, there are not. This piece first appeared in 1866, just a couple years after this general type really entered the American numismatic consciousness. After W. Elliot Woodward got to handle most of a hoard of roughly 15 pieces harvested from the Netherlands in 1864, he became something of the American expert on the series, and realized how rare this was when he got to catalog it in December 1866. "1158. Rhode Island Medal, 1779; this piece differs from all others that I have met with, having in place of the scroll under the ship, the Vlugtende; in good condition, and of excessive rarity." When W. Elliot Woodward used italics, he really meant business. The piece sold for $10.75 to "Parsons." As this medal did not appear in either the 1885 Frossard sale of the initial George W. Parsons Collection or the 1914 Henry Chapman sale of Parsons estate, it seems to have been sold privately. In 1883, Ed Frossard wrote to T. Harrison Garrett about some cents that belonged to Parsons, "for whom I have been selling many coins at private sales during past years." Garrett bought a Washington Oval Indian Peace medal and some other things, but it appears this unique Rhode Island Ship Medal instead went to Col. James W. Ellsworth at the time, but ended up with the Garretts eventually. Ellsworth was the primary buyer of rare colonial type coins in this era. He would have been a sensible first contact for Frossard and a logical place for this to end up. As with most of Ellsworths best colonial issues, this piece was acquired by John Work Garrett and remained in the Garrett cabinet for nearly six decades. It spent just three years with John Roper before becoming one of the key rarities in the remarkable Betts medal cabinet of John W. Adams, who cared for it for two decades. There are remarkably few unique colonial American numismatic rarities. Lots of them are very rare, but only a precious few are represented by just a single example. Aside from this piece, there has never been a rumor, a suggestion, or a red herring publication that would ever indicate more than a single piece exists. Its importance transcends rarity, however, as this single piece is the one that makes the entire Rhode Island Ship Medal issue make sense. Its been a core listing in both Betts and the Guide Book for generations, and yet has sold publicly just four times since Lee arrived at Appomattox. This brought the same sum at Garrett as the New England Elephant token, another great rarity that stands astride the parallel worlds of colonial coins and Betts-listed early American medals. PCGS# 582. From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier from W. Elliot Woodwards sale of the Numismatic Collections of A.V. Jenks and George T. Paine, December 1866, lot 1158; George W. Parsons Collection; Col. James W. Ellsworth Collection, probably via Ed. Frossard; John Work Garrett Collection, March 1923; John Work Garrett to The Johns Hopkins University, by gift, 1942; our (Bowers and Ruddys) sale of the Garrett Collection Part III, October 1980, lot 1325; our (Stacks) sale of the John L. Roper, 2nd Collection, December 1983, lot 170; Heritages sale of the John W. Adams Collection, January 2014, lot 3109.
