1778-1779 (ca. 1780) Rhode Island Ship Medal. Betts-563, W-1745. Wreath Below Ship. Pewter. Unc Details--Tooled (PCGS). 135.0 grains. 32.8 mm. A bright and beautiful example of this rarer format of the Rhode Island Ship Medal. Highly lustrous on the ship side, with trivial mellowing of the fields and a single raised patch of tin pest in the upper right obverse field. The island side is a bit more mellowed, but still retains some reflective luster and a choice, natural appearance. Crisply struck and nicely preserved, with absolutely no tooling present, just a small patch of light surface scratches in the upper right obverse.<p><p>The rarity of this composition, combined with its propensity to corrode, makes a nice example like this a very unusual property. Most are worn, heavily pested, or damaged; this is none of those things. Its among the finest weve seen in this format. PCGS# 585. From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Leonard Finn; Heritages sale of the John W. Adams Collection, January 2014, lot 3112, via Anthony Terranova.
