Watch List notes:

CHINA. China - Great Britain - Scotland - United States. William Breckenridge/Sinking of the "Zhoushan" Silver Lifesaving Medal, 1874. CHOICE EXTREMELY FINE.
Royal Naval Exhibition (1891), 2555 (this medal cited). Dimensions: 53mm x 91mm; Weight: 50.70 gms. Obverse: Etching-like engraving showing the steamer Zhoushan in the act of sinking off the coast of Ardrossan Harbor (as it appeared in Illustrated London News); all within raised, beaded border; Reverse: Engraved legend (in both script and block fonts): "Subscribers Medal / PRESENTED / to Wm Breckenridge / FOR HEROIC EFFORTS IN SAVING LIFE / AT THE WRECK OF THE / Chusan / IN ARDROSSAN HARBOUR / 21st Octr 1874;" decorative scrollwork all around; all within raised, beaded border. The entire piece housed within a bezel shaped in the form of a coiled rope, with life preserver and anchor attached at the top, along with a loop for suspension. A highly enticing and UNIQUE lifesaving award medal of immense cross-cultural interest. Lightly toned and charming, with a good deal of shimmering brilliance. Incredible artistry and engraving skill is on full display.

The iron paddle steamer Zhoushan (also appearing in records as Chusan [as on this medal]) was launched in September 1874 and was owned by the China Steam Navigation Company, whose agents were Baring Brothers and Company (in London) and Russell and Company (in Shanghai). Her usage, once in China, was intended to facilitate trade between Shanghai and Hankow; this, however, would never come to be. On the morning of 21 October 1874, on her way from Glasgow to Shanghai, she sank during a gale.

The ship had previously set out for China on 10 October, but a stop at Waterford in Ireland resulted in a defect being detected, causing the planned trip to be scuttled and her to return to Glasgow for necessary repairs. It was upon this return trip that tragedy struck upon encountering tempestuous winds in the Ardrossan Harbor. So close to the coast was this unimaginable event that hundreds witnessed it from two different piers (Montgomerie and Winton). William Breckenridge, a local and no stranger to rescue missions, piloted a lifeboat to the windward side of the wreck where she was anchored--the waters still roiling from the gale. Though not nearly everyone who was on the ill-fated vessel (48 crew and five passengers) was rescued, one of those who was saved was the Captain's wife (Mrs. George C. Johnson of Salem, Massachusetts), who would later present this medal to her rescuer, William Breckenridge, along with similar such medals to his crew. This specific mentioning of the present award medal emanates from Breckenridge's obituary some six years following the Zhoushan wreck, appearing in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald editions of 3 & 10 April 1880: "The captain of the Chusan perished but his lady, who was saved, presented Breckenridge and his crew with a silver medal each in recognition of their services."

So revered locally was he that a football match between Seafield (from Ardrossan) and Kilmarnock Athletic took place on 10 April, with the gate proceeds being donated to his wife. It is unclear what happened to the medal during the decade of the 1880s, but it was clearly on display at the Royal Naval Exhibition, held in Chelsea, west London, opening 2 May 1891, as it was included in the exhibition's guide as item #2555 and as having been lent by a "Mrs. Marsden."

Ex: Collection of a "Mrs. Marsden" (from whom it was on display at the Royal Naval Exhibition in 1891).

Estimate: $750 - $1500