1721 Guadeloupe Fortified Medal. Betts-148. Bronze. MS-63 BN (PCGS).
41.4 mm. 603.4 grains. Plain edge. A genuinely elusive medal, far rarer than the Betts-listed Louis XIV medals that were spread far and wide when his successes were widely commemorated after his death. Nice chocolate brown with violet undertones over frosty luster. Scattered little marks are seen, most notably in the right obverse field, but none are individually series. The design of this medal features an interesting use of negative space, which is to say the reverse has none except in the exergue. This medal appears to Betts and West Indies collectors, but also to collectors of maps on medals for its depiction of Guadeloupe. We sold Syd Martin's piece in the same grade last year for $840.
From the Joe Foster Collection. Earlie ex Henry Christensen's sale of September 20, 1967, lot 199; said ex Pardo; John J. Ford, Jr.; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIII, January 2006, lot 837.

Estimate: $1000