GREAT BRITAIN. George II. 1727-1760. Æ brass medal. 15.76 gm. 38.5 mm. Admiral Vernon Medal. Porto Bello Taken. Three-quarter figure of Vernon standing facing slightly left, holding baton; ADMIRAL VERNON TOOK PORTO BELLO around, no line enclosing legend / Six ships entering Portobello harbor; WITH SIX SHIPS ONLY NOV 22 1739 around top from 8 to 4. Adams & Chao PBv 7-E (R-8, 1 to 3 examples known). Betts -. Good Very Fine; slight area of green patination at 12' reverse; otherwise fresh piece.

Admiral Vernon medals were created to commemorate the victories of the eponymous British naval commander in battles that took place between November 1739 and April 1741. The long and complex history of tension between England and Spain eventually came to a head when Spanish privateer coast guards, or guardacostas, boarded a Glasgow ship off Havana in 1731 and allegedly cut off her master's ear, to drive home the point of their anti-smuggling mission. When her captain Robert Jenkins produced his severed ear before Hampton Court in 1739, combined with many other merchant's complaints of lost cargoes and and humiliation, the War of Jenkins's Ear was ignited with widespread public support. Admiral Edward Vernon, an experienced naval commander, scored a major military and public relations victory when he took the heavily fortified Portobelo in a single day on December 2nd 1739 with just six ships. This bold action, combined with the tide of positive public opinion, led to this hasty issue of medals commemorating the event to capitalize on the moment.

A thorough and high quality analysis of the history and of the issues can be had in John Adams & Dr. Fernando Chao's 2010 Medallic Portraits of Admiral Vernon, from which this summary is drawn.