HORNREICH COLLECTION of World and U.S. Historical Medals Including So-Called Dollars
MI-439,42 AR, George I, Navel Action Cape Passaro

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Medal, 1718, AR, King GEORGE I, NAVAL ACTION AT CAPE PASSARO, SPANISH FLEET DESTROYED, Great Britain, MI-439,42, Eimer 481, NGC MS63, Cert# 3349828-004. House of Hanover. George I. 1714-1727. Silver Medal (45mm, 37.41 g, 12h). Spanish Fleet Destroyed off Cape Passaro. By J. Crocker. Dated 1718. GEORGIVS · D : G : MAG BR : FR : ET · HIB : REX · F · D ·, laureate, draped, and armored bust right; I C below / SOCIORVM PROTECTOR ·, statue of George (as Neptune) left upon rostral column among captured naval trophies; CLASSE · HISP · DELECTA ·/AD · ORAS · SICILIÆ ·/1718 in three lines in exergue. MI 439/42; Eimer 481. An excellent example of this high-relief medal celebrating the British naval triumph against the Spanish. The toning is an appealing bluish gray. The captured cannons and suchlike depicted on the reverse are all boldly detailed. A great medal! History: A naval engagement between Great Britain and Spain, the Battle of Cape Passaro emanated from the latter’s invasion of Sicily earlier in the year. The result was a decisive victory for Great Britain and a formal declaration of war against Spain by France, the Dutch Republic, and the Holy Roman Empire. This conflict, the War of the Quadruple Alliance, even reached the Americas where a French capturing of the Spanish settlement of Pensacola in May 1719 pre-empted a later Spanish attack on South Carolina.