1772 Captain James Cook Resolution & Adventure Silver Medal good EF
1772 Captain James Cook Resolution & Adventure Silver Medal good EF
Obverse: Laureate bust of King George III facing right. “GEORGE III. KING OF GR BRITAIN FRANCE AND IRELAND ETC” around. BF [Boulton & Fothergill] in truncation.
Reverse: Two three-masted sailing ships in heavy seas. “RESOLUTION ADVENTURE” above, “SAILED . FROM . ENGLAND / MARCH . MDCCLXXII” below.
Composition: Silver | Weight: 44.66g | Diameter: 44.20mm
Mintage: 142
This is a superb example of this incredibly rare and historic medallion.
The silver Resolution and Adventure medallion commemorates Captain James Cook’s Second Voyage across the Southern Hemisphere, a pioneering journey that fundamentally changed the way the world was viewed.
It has long been regarded as a key item in Australian numismatics, and unequivocally rates as one of the most desirable items of Captain Cook memorabilia available. Not only does it remain a direct link to one of the greatest explorers the world has ever known, it is also strongly connected to the man regarded by many as being “The Father of Australia”, Sir Joseph Banks.
Many descriptions of Banks’ involvement with the Resolution & Adventure medals speak of depict Banks commissioning them almost as a benevolent patron - one far apart from the logistics of the voyage, but with warm regard for the people and objectives concerned. The reality is however that these medals were a fundamental part of Banks’ planning for the Second Voyage - an expedition that he clearly intended to have a dominating influence over. Banks may very well have envisioned himself gifting medallions in exchange for new botanical specimens right across the Pacific, flora that he would have received further acclaim for upon his return to London. His conflict with Cook and the Admiralty over the available accommodation on the Resolution meant that Banks did not actually travel on the ships seen on the medals he commissioned. It is interesting to wonder whether Banks would have still commissioned Boulton to manufacture these medals had he never intended to travel with Cook on his Second Voyage, some might suspect the answer would be no.
With this in mind then, the Resolution and Adventure medals are a tangible reminder of the tumultuous and short-lived involvement of Sir Joseph Banks in Cook’s Second Voyage. Work on the medals did not begin until after the Resolution’s new deck was complete on February 2nd 1772, and Boulton had well and truly finished striking them at least a month before Banks withdrew from the expedition on May 28th 1772.
While Banks had no involvement with Cook’s Second Voyage after it departed, we can imagine that while he was immersed in the task of compiling his “Florilegium”, the written record of the natural curiosities and other artefacts that he brought back from the Southern Hemisphere, Banks may well have also distributed the silver medallions to friends and dignitaries in London that had an interest in his work, as well as in the benefits that subsequent voyages might bring.
The silver Resolution and Adventure medallions are an incredibly rare link to one of the world’s greatest explorers - the man that discovered Australia and are a reminder of a project very dear to one of the world’s greatest natural scientists, Sir Joseph Banks.
This obverse design of King George III on the Resolution and Adventure medals demonstrated to the world (including the French) that all of England, including the King himself, supported Cook on his Second Voyage. This obverse also served a practical purpose - it would allow Banks (or Cook for that matter) to show the “natives” of the Southern Hemisphere an image of their King.
The reasons behind the choice of reverse design were obvious - to the people of England it showed the vessels that undertook the voyage, to the people of the Southern hemisphere it would act as a reminder of the visit by the English. Any European explorers that subsequently landed in regions where the local inhabitants had been presented with the platina medals would be in no doubt they had been preceded by the English.
Click here to read our full article on this incredibly rare and historic medallion.
SKU: 213741
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| SKU | 213741 |
| Shipping Weight | 0.0500kg |
| Shipping Height | 0.001m |
| Assembled Length | 0.030m |
| Assembled Height | 0.001m |
| Assembled Width | 0.030m |
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