Heritage World Coin Auctions
Dallas Signature Sale 3091 6-7 May 2021
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Great Britain
Elizabeth I silver "Defeat of the Spanish Armada" Medal 1588 AU50 NGC, Eimer-56a, MI-I-144/111, Van Loon-I-384/1. 52mm. By G. van Bijlaer. Struck rather than cast. A historic and incredibly rare celebratory Medal, commemorating one of the most important events for 16th-century Britain: the colossal defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Although England is commonly remembered as one of the greatest naval powers of the colonial era, at the time of Elizabeth I's reign, it was Spain that commanded the seas. Though the breaking of the Spanish fleet owed greatly to horrendous weather conditions more than outright British initiative, it nevertheless heralded the Isles' eclipsing of the Spanish Empire. Depicting a dramatic scene of Spanish ships sinking in the foreground, while the reverse shows the Pope and Catholic bishops blindfolded and seated atop a floor made of spikes, the type is hardly ever found as an original striking, let alone without evidence of punctures or prior mounting. To date, we have only handled one example previously, a raw AU piece which brought $10,200 in April 2019, with perhaps only 2 or so other originals having become available in recent years.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/great-britain-elizabeth-i-silver-defeat-of-the-spanish-armada-medal-1588-au50-ngc-/a/3091-31100.s?type=CoinArchives3091
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 4000-6000 USD
Elizabeth I silver "Defeat of the Spanish Armada" Medal 1588 AU50 NGC, Eimer-56a, MI-I-144/111, Van Loon-I-384/1. 52mm. By G. van Bijlaer. Struck rather than cast. A historic and incredibly rare celebratory Medal, commemorating one of the most important events for 16th-century Britain: the colossal defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Although England is commonly remembered as one of the greatest naval powers of the colonial era, at the time of Elizabeth I's reign, it was Spain that commanded the seas. Though the breaking of the Spanish fleet owed greatly to horrendous weather conditions more than outright British initiative, it nevertheless heralded the Isles' eclipsing of the Spanish Empire. Depicting a dramatic scene of Spanish ships sinking in the foreground, while the reverse shows the Pope and Catholic bishops blindfolded and seated atop a floor made of spikes, the type is hardly ever found as an original striking, let alone without evidence of punctures or prior mounting. To date, we have only handled one example previously, a raw AU piece which brought $10,200 in April 2019, with perhaps only 2 or so other originals having become available in recent years.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/great-britain-elizabeth-i-silver-defeat-of-the-spanish-armada-medal-1588-au50-ngc-/a/3091-31100.s?type=CoinArchives3091
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 4000-6000 USD