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(: Colonial Era - 1779 Rhode Island Ship Medal :)
SpaceMonkey
Posts: 3,311 ✭
A recent addition... a beautiful bold piece which has all sorts of interesting stories to tell... from the commemorative nature itself to the removal of poorly placed inscriptions (see bold text below).... and hey... it has a ship on it... the chicks always dig that. 
The origin and significance of the Rhode Island Ship Token has long been obscure. It is now thought the idea for this medal was conceived during the second half of 1779, sometime after Spain joined France in declaring war on Britain. The medal was minted in England for distribution throughout the Netherlands, most probably, during the second half of 1780. It commemorated a victory of the British Admiral Richard Howe. During the summer of 1778 Major General John Sullivan, commanding some ten thousand American troops, with the aid of about four thousand French troops under Admiral Comte d'Estaing, tried to take Newport Rhode Island from British control. On August 20, 1778, Admiral Howe defeated d'Estaing's fleet and then headed for Conanicut Island, situated just off the coast of Newport, where the Continental troops were stationed. Hearing of the British advance, the Continental troops were forced to flee from the island and abandon their attack plans.
The obverse of the token depicts Howe's flagship while the reverse shows the American troops fleeing Conanicut Island. These items were sent to the Netherlands as propaganda. The Dutch were sympathetic to the American cause, and the British did not want them to sign an armed neutrality treaty against Britain. In 1779 Russia was protesting the British practice of searching neutral ships on the high seas for items the British considered to be contraband, that is, supplies destine for the rebellious American colonies or any of the allies. At the time the British had blockades against France and Spain, as well as the American colonies, and were boarding all neutral vessels on the high seas that were suspected of trading with any of those countries. In the summer of 1780 Russia persuaded Denmark and Sweden to join in a League of Armed Neutrality against the British inspections; they also made several overtures to Holland to join. In fact, the Dutch island of St. Eustatius in the Caribbean was a center of clandestine (that is, unrestricted) trade with America. Michael Hodder suspects the Rhode Island Ship token was distributed in Holland during the period from the Summer through mid December of 1780 to discourage the Dutch from joining the League. It was hoped this token, showing the hopelessness of the American cause, would influence the Dutch decision. Apparently the propaganda was ineffective, for the Dutch joined the League on December 20, 1780.
Although made in England, the legends on the token are in Dutch. Originally the engraver mistakenly included the word "vlugtende" (fleeing) on the obverse of the coin under the flagship. Clearly this was meant to be on the reverse of the token which depicts the fleeing Continental troops. This error was soon discovered and had to be remedied, as one could easily interpret the obverse to mean the Admiral's flagship was fleeing! The obverse die was recut so that a wreath design replaced the offending word under the flagship. Also, the word "vlugtende" was scrapped off the remaining undistributed stock of the token that already been made.
These tokens were made of brass with a few examples know in pewter. Pewter examples survive for the variety with with vlugente erased but no wreath and for the variety with the wreath. Often Rhode Island Ship tokens are found in circulated condition, suggesting they were used as coins rather than kept as commemorative medals. There is no evidence that these tokens ever circulated in America.
(excerpts from www.coins.nd.edu)
-sm
The origin and significance of the Rhode Island Ship Token has long been obscure. It is now thought the idea for this medal was conceived during the second half of 1779, sometime after Spain joined France in declaring war on Britain. The medal was minted in England for distribution throughout the Netherlands, most probably, during the second half of 1780. It commemorated a victory of the British Admiral Richard Howe. During the summer of 1778 Major General John Sullivan, commanding some ten thousand American troops, with the aid of about four thousand French troops under Admiral Comte d'Estaing, tried to take Newport Rhode Island from British control. On August 20, 1778, Admiral Howe defeated d'Estaing's fleet and then headed for Conanicut Island, situated just off the coast of Newport, where the Continental troops were stationed. Hearing of the British advance, the Continental troops were forced to flee from the island and abandon their attack plans.
The obverse of the token depicts Howe's flagship while the reverse shows the American troops fleeing Conanicut Island. These items were sent to the Netherlands as propaganda. The Dutch were sympathetic to the American cause, and the British did not want them to sign an armed neutrality treaty against Britain. In 1779 Russia was protesting the British practice of searching neutral ships on the high seas for items the British considered to be contraband, that is, supplies destine for the rebellious American colonies or any of the allies. At the time the British had blockades against France and Spain, as well as the American colonies, and were boarding all neutral vessels on the high seas that were suspected of trading with any of those countries. In the summer of 1780 Russia persuaded Denmark and Sweden to join in a League of Armed Neutrality against the British inspections; they also made several overtures to Holland to join. In fact, the Dutch island of St. Eustatius in the Caribbean was a center of clandestine (that is, unrestricted) trade with America. Michael Hodder suspects the Rhode Island Ship token was distributed in Holland during the period from the Summer through mid December of 1780 to discourage the Dutch from joining the League. It was hoped this token, showing the hopelessness of the American cause, would influence the Dutch decision. Apparently the propaganda was ineffective, for the Dutch joined the League on December 20, 1780.
Although made in England, the legends on the token are in Dutch. Originally the engraver mistakenly included the word "vlugtende" (fleeing) on the obverse of the coin under the flagship. Clearly this was meant to be on the reverse of the token which depicts the fleeing Continental troops. This error was soon discovered and had to be remedied, as one could easily interpret the obverse to mean the Admiral's flagship was fleeing! The obverse die was recut so that a wreath design replaced the offending word under the flagship. Also, the word "vlugtende" was scrapped off the remaining undistributed stock of the token that already been made.
These tokens were made of brass with a few examples know in pewter. Pewter examples survive for the variety with with vlugente erased but no wreath and for the variety with the wreath. Often Rhode Island Ship tokens are found in circulated condition, suggesting they were used as coins rather than kept as commemorative medals. There is no evidence that these tokens ever circulated in America.
(excerpts from www.coins.nd.edu)
-sm
0
Comments
i never knew of the removed word.......thanks for posting!
www.brunkauctions.com
Beautiful -
I always have in the back of my mind - must get a RI Ship medal - History, Ship and I live in RI - it has it all for me.
The few I see offered every now and then do not fit my budget
So I will continue to enjoy seeing those belonging to others
Thanks for sharing!
K
Also, good to know the chicks dig coins with ships.
<< <i>Stack's agreed, which is why they used to include this coin in their old web header . . . >>
Cool.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
The famous collector and researcher Charles Bushnell had a slightly different view of the origin and purpose of this token. He thought that it was of Dutch origin and in fact was mocking both the US and British as they were aligned with neither at the time. His view that the vlugtende "fleeing" (in Dutch) on the reverse represented the Continentals and Militia fleeing Rhode Island as Howe's armada approached them. On the obverse, the "vlugtende" scratched off the bottom or covered over with a wreath (there is one example that still bears vlugtende-see the Roper Sale) represented Howe's Ship "fleeing" Boston Harbor as Washington captured Dorchester Heights. So in fact, neither side was winning and they (the Dutch) should just stay out. The further speculation was that when the "just stay out of it" token failed to sell in Holland, they just scratched off or repunched the tokens and sold them in England.
Hard to say what was the original intent, and while I don't necessarily believe Bushnell's view...he was no slouch. I guess my point is that Colonials can be so fascinating because they have so many different and sometimes conflicting stories to tell.
Best,
novacaesarea
novacaesarea
<< <i>...Colonials can be so fascinating because they have so many different and sometimes conflicting stories to tell. >>
True!
Thanks for the additional info, novacaesarea.
and also to novacaesarea for sharing the other (possible) side of the story
great thread!
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars