Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

The Naval Reward for Captains, gold medal, 1653, by Thomas Simon, the so-called Blake Medal: the united shields of England, Scotland and Ireland suspended from the beams of an anchor, a rope scrolls around, signed with TS monogram at top of anchor, rev., a naval engagement, the sea filled with ships, in the forefront a Dutch ship sinks, its stern with the signature SIMON, the prow of another signed TS, 46 x 36mm; 28.8g (MI 400/28; Lessen PB1; Platt II, pp. 335-35, type C; Eim 185*; MH 36; BBM 14B; DF 103.1*; Tancred p. 31), integral suspension loop and ring. A superb gold medal, extremely fine and excessively rare.

This, the smaller Naval Reward, was awarded to Captains and officers of lower rank of the ships involved in the last of the three great naval battles of the First Dutch War, Portland, Gabbard, and Texel on 31 July 1653, during the course of which Admiral Tromp was killed. Lessen has established that 80 specimens were issued and awarded. The survival rate has not been good and whilst listing 15 specimens he has demonstrated the confusion of pedigrees from named sales, some going back to the 18th century, and concludes that several of them must be the same pieces re-appearing, "seven distinct specimens can be defined today, with one or two more possibles out of the fifteen listed, so perhaps eight or nine [survive] in total". Of these three are in English museum collections. Only three medals have appeared at public auction since the War, the first Glendining, 12 February, 1964 (lot 10), the second ex David F. Spink Collection, SCA 50, 6-7 March, 1986 (lot 930), and third this specimen as detailed below. A fourth, also ex David Spink, was sold privately by his estate in 1986.

Provenance: Ex. Papillon Collection, Bonhams, 25 March, 1998 (lot 35); ex Greta S. Heckett (lot 216) believed also ex G. Hamilton-Smith (lot 1004) Collection.

* Both Eimer and Fearon illustrate this actual medal.