1741 ADMIRAL VERNON MEDAL CARTHAGENA NGC VF35 ADAMS CAv-4-E ~ RARE TOP POP!.

One of only two NGC graded in VF with Zero in a higher grade! This medal is the highest of its type! Top Pop! Admiral Vernon medals come in a series of about 250 separate designs, all are very rare.

Struck during the War for Jenkin's ear, named for the British merchant captain Robert Jenkins between 1739 and 1741. Admiral Vernon's self-predicted victory over the Spanish treasure port of Porto Bello (Panama) in 1739, and nearby Fort Chagre in early 1740, made him an instant hero and led to the striking of hundreds of different commemorative medals all over Great Britain. These events marked the first major British victories in over 30 years, and England had been growing nervous about her military prowess. Porto Bello was the grand prize, but the following, quick surrender of the Castil De San Lorenzo (Fort Chagre), at the mouth of Charges River, solidified Vernon's reputation just a few months later. Newspapers of the day began comparing Vernon to Sir Robert Blake, the most famous British Admiral of all time, as Vernon had "Revived the British Glory," as some of the medals proclaim.

These victories caused the British government to plan an even more daring assault on the "Mecca" of the Spanish Caribbean trade network, Carthagena (modern day Cartagena, Columbia). In 1741, the magnanimous Admiral Vernon found himself in joint command, along with British Army General Wentworth, of a land and naval assault on Carthagena. The man who was supposed to be in charge of the so-called Carthagena Expedition of 1741 had died on the 9 week voyage to the West Indies. The assault employed both British regulars and colonial troops that were raised in the American colonies. George Washington's half-brother, Lawrence, received a King's commission as a colonial officer in the Carthagena Expedition, and sailed on Vernon's flag ship. He distinguished himself a war hero, leading sorties against the Spanish. Even though Vernon's reputation was ultimately tarnished after the expedition failed to take the city; due to squabbles between he and Wentworth, and because about half the British and American forces died of tropical disease; medals commemorating the victory were already being struck in Britain in advance of any military action. Some show the Spanish commander, Blass De Lesso, surrendering his sword. Others, like this piece, show a portrait of Vernon. Vernon did "view the town" but it was from afar, and from a boat.

This disastrous expedition was a sore subject in the American colonies, due to the abuse of colonial troops, and it was a definite, contributing factor to the American Revolution. It lead to great difficulties raising colonial militias for Kings Georges War (1745) and the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Lawrence, on the other hand, continued to admire his commander, and upon his return to Virginia in 1742, he named his plantation Mount Vernon, in honor of the Admiral. Young George admired his older brother and longed for his own King's commission some day. The rest is history.

Medal Shipped via Insured USPS