1631 Dutch Victories in the New World Medal. Betts-33. Silver. MS-61 (PCGS).

50.0 mm. 667.4 grains. One of the classic rarities among the early Betts series, with an incredibly evocative depiction of the Belgic lion forcibly toppling Spain's Pillars of Hercules, the symbols of their trans-Atlantic imperial dominion. Lustrous silver gray with some field reflectivity and deep golden toning at the peripheries of both sides. Scattered minor marks and hairlines are seen, including a pair of small nicks on the jawline of the portrait of the Prince of Orange. The reverse shows substantial double striking, most notable at the periphery. The devices are crisp, and the dynamic motion of the empowered lion over the backdrop of an incredibly diminutive cityscape above the exergue is all well executed. This is a beautiful design and a beautiful medal. In 20 years, your cataloger has only seen four of these: the two sold from the John W. Adams Collection in 2013, both sourced in Europe; LaRiviere's, sold in 2001, that came from a 1999 Spink sale; and this one, ex Ford and with the longest American provenance of any. Were this one of Betts' many stretches, it might not much matter that it's especially rare, but this medal isn't one that a historian can peripherally affiliate with American colonization with a little knowledge and a lot of imagination. Instead, the reverse marks this medal as the most essential medallic depiction of the central New World struggle of the early 17th century: the naval conflict off these shores between Spain and the Netherlands. The conflict focused on the West Indies and Brazil, where the long battle for Pernambuco ended the year this medal was struck. This medal was almost certainly commissioned in the aftermath of the 1630 battles for Olinda and Recife in Pernambuco. In 1631, the Spanish retook it, but the same Dutch West Indies Company that struggled against the Spanish below the Equator was then in charge of New Netherlands and was, that very year, establishing Swanendael on the coast of modern-day Delaware. The Dutch-Spanish rivalry set the stage for the entire age of colonization, from the dominance of the slave trade to West Indian place names. Among the four specimens seen, this is easily the nicest.

From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from the Ted Craige estate in October 1982; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIII, January 2006, lot 687. Said to be ex Picker and Fuld collections.