101777 | GREAT BRITAIN. Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe bronze Medal.

101777  |  GREAT BRITAIN. Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe bronze Medal. Issued 1794. Commemorating the Battle of the "Glorious First of June" (48mm, 58.36 g, 12h). By C. H. Küchler.

 

RIC • COMES HOWE THALASSIARCHA BRITAN • / PATRIÆ DECVS ET TVTAMEN •, uniformed bust right / NON SORTE SED VIRTUTE (not by luck but in fact by virtue), view of the battle of Howe’s flagship Queen Charlotte sinking French ship; in three lines in exergue, GALLOR • CLASSIS PROFLIG •/ DIE I JUNII • / MDCCXCIV (the French fleet routed on the first of June). Edge: Plain.

 

BHM 383; Eimer 855. Choice Mint State. Deep glossy brown surfaces, with pleasing relief on the obverse and intricate detail on the reverse. A fairly scarce and popular type, with a mintage of just 260 pieces. Compare to similar examples, such as a PCGS MS-64 that realized a total of $840 in September 2014 (Goldberg 81, lot 2238) and an NGC MS-65 Brown that realized a total of $780 in May 2021 (Sedwick 29, lot 1246).

 

Part of the War of the First Coalition, the "Glorious First of June" was the first and largest fleet action in the naval conflict between Great Britain and France. Occurring to the west of France in the Atlantic Ocean, it involved a large number of British and French ships and, through a tactical British victory, it was also a strategic French victory in the longer run. As such, both countries saw reason to celebrate and score propaganda points back home. This medal commemorates the events, along with the admiral, Richard Howe, who received his peerage six years prior in 1788.

 

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