Owner Comments:
Alexander Davison commissioned Matthew Boulton’s Soho Mint to strike the Battle of the Nile medals as a testament to his deep admiration and respect for Lord Nelson and the sailors he commanded. Despite the significance of this victory and the popularity of this medal (both then and now), it appears that some mystery remains. For instance, the total number struck, and the distribution of the metals used varies between several notable sources. For instance, Pollard (1970) reports a total of 6,730 struck (25 gold; 150 silver; 30 copper gilt; 6000 bronzed copper; 525 copper) while Comfort (2017) reports a total of 7,216. Likewise, there are differences in the reported total cost, but I have confidence in the number Vice (1970) reported, which is £762 and 4 Shillings, which reflects a discount after Davison complained of the cost. In his catalog entry for this medal (BHM-447) Brown (1980) notes that the reverse legend was adopted from the opening line of Nelson’s letter to George III announcing the decisive victory. The amount of information readily available about this piece is not surprising given its popularity, but Sim Comfort (2017) provides an ample amount of background concerning the design and execution of this medal. His book is invaluable to those seriously interested in pursuing the naval medals struck at the Soho Mint. A final note of interest is that the dies were purportedly destroyed; however, it appears at least one hub survived at the Soho Mint, but was not part of the 1850 auction (Vice, 1995).
Historical Context:
The Battle of the Nile was a critically important victory - the details of which were published extensively in almost every contemporary British newspaper. While working through the numerous reports I stumbled upon something in deep contrast to the norm, which I opted to detail below.
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Kentish Gazette
Tuesday, October 9, 1798
The following is a copy of a letter from the Comptroller-General of the Eastern Army in Egypt, to a friend at Paris, which was intercepted in the vessel which had Buonaparte’s dispatches on board:
FROM E. POUSSIEULQUE, COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE EXPENSES OF THE EASTERN ARMY, AND ADMINISTRATOR GENERAL OF FINANCE.
Rosetta, in egypt, 17th Thermidor,
6th Year of the French Republic, or
3d of August, 1798.
“We have just been witnesses, by dear friend, to the naval combat the most bloody and unfortunate that for many ages has taken place. And yet we know not all the circumstances; But those which we are already acquainted with are frightful in the extreme.
The French squadron, consisting of 13 sail of the line, one of which has a three-decker, of 120 guns, and three others of 80, were anchored in line of battle in the Bay of Abouker, or Cunope, the only one there is on all the coast of Egypt. For these eight days past, several ships and frigates belonging to the English, have at different times been in fight, reconnoitring position of our fleet, so that we have been in momentary expectation of being attacked. In a Direct Line from Abouker to Rosetta, the distance is about four leagues and a half; from the height to the latter place our fleet is perfectly seen and distinguished. The 14th of this month, at half past five o’clock in the evening, we heard the firing of cannon: this was the commencement of at the battle. We immediately got upon the terraces, on the top of the highest houses, and on the little eminences, from whence we plainly perceived ten English ships of the line; the others we could not see. The cannonade was very heavy until about a quarter after nine o’clock, when, favored by the night, be perceived an immense light, which announced to us that some ship was on fire. At this time the Thunder of cannon was heard with redoubled fury, and at ten o’clock the ship on fire blew up with the most dreadful explosion, which was heard at Rosetta in the same manner as the explosion of the Grenelle at Paris. When this accident happened, the most profound silence took place for the space of about ten minutes; from the moment of the explosion until our hearing it might take up to two minutes. The firing commenced again, and continued without intermission until three o’clock in the morning: it's seized almost entirely until 5:00, when it commenced again with as great vivacity as ever.
I place myself on a bower, about cannon shot from Rosetta, and which is called Aboul Mandour, from thence I could distinctly see the whole battle. At eight o’clock I perceived a ship on fire, and and about half an hour she blew up similar to the other last night. The other ships moved to greater distance from the shore, and the fire on board her apparently diminished, by which we presume it was entirely extinguished. - During this time the cannonading redoubled. A large ship entirely dismasted; but the two squadrons so mingled among each other, that it was impossible to distinguish French from English, nor on whose side the advantage was.
The firing continued with unabating vivacity until two o’clock midday on the 15th, And at this hour we perceived two sail of the line and two frigates under a press of sail on a wind, standing to the eastward. We perceive that the whole four were under French colors. No other vessel made any movement, and the firing seized entirely. Towards six o’clock in the evening I returned to the tower of Aboul Mandour, to reconnoitre the position of the two fleets. It was the same as two o’clock. The four ships underway were abreast of the mouth of the Nile. We knew not what to think or conjecture. Twenty-four hours passed without any person to give us any details, and in our situation it was impossible to procure any by land on account of the Arabs, who were assembled between Rosetta and Aboukir. There is nothing to be learned by sea, on account of the difficulty of getting out of the opening or branch of the Nile. You may judge of our impatience and perplexity. Nothing could could be augured from the silence; However, we were obliged to pass the whole of the night of the 15th in this and certitude, and at last on the morning of the 16th, a boat which left Alexandria in the night gave us some details, though little tending to our comfort. They told us, that the officers of the French fleet who saved themselves in a boat, arrived at Alexandria, had reported that in the commencement of the battle, Admiral Bruyes had received three severe wounds, first on the head, the second in the body; that notwithstanding he persisted in keeping his station on thearms-chest. and that a fourth took him in the body, and cut him in two; at the same moment a shot took off the Captain of the ship, Caffa Bianca; that at this moment they perceived the ship to be on fire in such a manner as to not be able to extinguish it, and at last that the ship had blown up about ten o’clock at night: they added, that our fleet was totally destroyed and lost, with the exception of four ships escaped. I returned to the town, where I found things absolutely in the same situation as yesterday. They continued so last night and this morning.
For these two days these ships have been perfectly inactive, and seemingly destroyed. This morning news has arrived from Alexandria, which confirms our losses. Rear-Admiral De Cresy is killed; and Vice-Admiral Blanquet Duchaila; five ships have struck their colors. The Tonnant was the last ship in action; Dupertitar, who commanded her, had his two legs carried off by a cannon shot. The ship's escaped are the Gilaume Tell, and the firgates Diane and Justice. They say it was the Artemize that blew up the morning before yesterday; Many things relative to this battle yet to be known. They say that the English Admiral sent a flag of truce to Alexandria, demanding that they should received and take care of the wounded, which amount to 1500. They will send us all our prisoners. As yet I am ignorant of what has been decided on. - I have had, since my arrival here, my portrait, and profile, taken by an able artist, citizen Benay; it is said to be very like, but we have so many English around us, that for fear of its falling into their hands, or going to the bottom of the sea, I dare not send it. I could wish to be the bearer of it myself; be assured, That as soon as I can obtain that permission, which I shall not cease to solicit, I shall take my departure - there is no fortune shall retain me - I shall be contended to arrive with you naked as my hand.
I embrace you, and also my children,
E. POUSSIEULQUE.
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The letter detailed above is devoid of any such notions of pride or admiration. Instead, the overall tone is of shock and horror paired with an unusual amount of detail given to the gruesome nature of the injuries sustained. Of course, the information above was gleaned from what was intended as private correspondence and was written by a French Official whose government just sustained a substantial defeat. In stark contrast, The British contemporary reports of this battle are typically packed with prideful statements of admiration. I have opted to forgo extensively reproducing any of those here for the sake of brevity, but the excerpt below is particularly germane.
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Calcutta Gazette
Thursday, January 9, 1800
NELSONIAN MEDALLION
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DESCRIPTION
OF the Metal struck by ALEXANDER DAVISON, Esq. as a Tribute of his Respect for Lord Nelson, and the OFFICERS and MEN who served in the Fleet under His Lordship’s Command on the First of August, 1798.
OBVERSE
Represents the allegorical Figure HOPE, with the Emblem proper, standing on a rugged Rock, with an Olive Branch in Right Hand, and supporting, by her Left Arm, the Profile of LORD NELSON, on a Medallion, to which she is pointing with her Forefinger. – HOPE is crowned with Oak and Laurel, and the Motto to the Medallion is “EUROPE’S HOPE AND BRITAIN’S GLORY.” – These Words express the real feelings of the surrounding Nations, and Boast of this happy island.
THE LEGEND
THE REAR ADMIRAL LORD NELSON OF THE NILE.”
THE REVERSE
Represents the French Fleet at Anchor in the Bay of Aboukir, and the British Fleet advancing to the Attack – The fortified islands in the Enemy’s Van – The Four Frigates that were moored within the Line to cover their Flank – and the Gun-Boats near the islands – The Setting Sun – The Coast of Egypt – The Mouth of the Nile – and the Castle of Aboukir.
THE LEGEND
ALMIGHTY GOD HAS BLESSED HIS MAJESTY’S ARMS.
Beneath the View,
VICTORY OF THE NILE,
AUGUST 1, 1798.
Mr. Davison, the gentleman who struck this beautiful Medal, is, we understand, appointed by Lord Nelson, and the Officers under his Lordship's command, the sole Agent for the sale of the French ships of war taken at the memorable action that was fought in the Bay of Aboukir, on the first of August, 1798.
The manner in which Mr. Davison has expressed to Lord Nelson, and to the Officers and Men under his Lordship's command, his respect for the confidence they have placed in him, as well as his admiration of the unparalleled glory that this incomparable victory has added to our national character an honor, is not only perfectly novel, but highly praiseworthy and commendable.
The design is elegant, appropriate, and expressives and attaches much merit to the person who conceived it. And however much allegory may be objected to by Medalists, we cannot but express our decided approbation of it in this instance, and we have every reason to think that Lord Nelson and all his Officers and Men will be highly pleased and fully gratified, at the method Mr. Davison has taken to show his respect for their confidence, and his admiration of the most reply indent and decisive victory that ever was obtained.
The dye has been engraved, and the Medal struck, under the direction of Mr. Boulton, of Soho, near Birmingham, to whom, as well as to the Artist he has employed on this occasion, much credit is due. All that we shall add upon this pleasing subject is, that we trust those who have not been so fortunate as to obtain the possession of a Medal, we'll be highly gratified with the impression and description we have here given of it. The noble Admiral, and all of the Officers and Men who served in the fleet under his Lordship's command, are each of them to be presented with a Medal. Those destined for the Admiral and Captains are of gold. Those for the Lieutenants and Officers who rank with them, are of silver. Those for the Warrant and inferior Officers, are of copper gilt - and those for the men are of copper bronzed. [Brit. Crit. Fe. 1799.]
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Obverse: The obverse depicts a female figure meant as an allegorical figure of Hope or Peace. The contemporary references indicate that she represents Hope, so I will adhere to that in the following description. Hope is depicted standing on a rocky shore, gazing to her right in the distance. Her hair is adorned with a laurel crown and a series of delicate curls flow down on either side of her neck. She wears a loose-fitting robe that is fastened by a clasp on her left shoulder. The left side of the robe has fallen and rests upon her left right arm, which exposes her left breast. Her right arm is extended and slightly downward. She clasps an olive branch in her right hand. Her left arm is extended and rests on the upper part of a large medallion depicting Lord Nelson. Her left hand is positioned just behind his head as if she is supporting him. The legend
EUROPE’S HOPE AND BRITAIN’S GLORY. appears close to the inner rim of the medallion. Hope and the medallion she holds supersedes the deception of a large ship anchor. The rocky shore in the foreground has many ragged edges and hints of grass growing from the cracks. The engraver’s initials
C.H.K. appear at the bottom. A rough sea is depicted in the background against the horizon, which is incepted by a roped border. The obverse legend
REAR-ADMIRAL LORD NELSON OF THE NILE. appears between the rope border and the inner rim of the medal. The entire design is confined within a raised outer rim.
Reverse: The reverse depicts the British fleet engaging the French. I forgo any detailed description here, as it would be redundant. Not to mention, this depiction is not entirely accurate. It is interesting to note that the engraver took care to distinguish between the French and English by the flags they presented. The sea appears rough with a series of crested waves in the foreground crashing against the Castle of Aboukir. In the background against the horizon appears the shoreline intersected by a radiant sun. The mouth of the Nile River bisects the shoreline just ahead of four frigates. The entire scene is sharply divided by a moderately thick border, which provides an exergue. Within this border appears
M.B. SOHO to the left, and
C . H. KÜCHLER . FEC. to the right. Immediately below in exergue appears
VICTORY OF THE NILE AUGUST 1. 1798. in two lines. The reverse design is superseded at roughly four and eight o’clock by a roped border. The reverse legend
ALMIGHTY GOD HAS BLESSED HIS MAJESTY’S ARMS. appears between the rope border and the inner rim of the medal. The entire design is confined within a raised outer rim.
Edge: FROM ALEXR. DAVISON, ESQR. ST. JAMES’ SQUARE = A TRIBUTE OF REGARD
Size: 48 mm
Notes:
As noted by Brown (1980) and Eimer (2010) the bronzed examples of this medal are relatively common. That said, this does not imply that they are always nicely preserved. It took me some time to locate a decent example and I happened to stumble upon this one for an extraordinarily good price. The original holder had a huge gouge across the obverse of the medal, but NGC had no issues replacing the holder. While they had it, I opted to take advantage of their PhotoVision service. Eventually, I would like to find an upgrade to this example, but that will be no easy task. The current medal is currently tied with one other for the coveted “top pop” status at NGC, which essentially eliminates the possibility of obtaining a better example that is already encapsulated. So far, I have been deeply unimpressed with the raw examples I have seen. These medals tend to be marred with deep scratches, distracting hairlines, rim dents, and evidence of past cleaning efforts.
References:
Brown, L. A. (1980). A Catalogue of British Historical Medals: Vol. I The Accession of George III to the Death of William IV 1760-1837. London: Seaby Publications Ltd.
Comfort, S. (2017). Matthew Boulton’s Naval Medals. London: Sim Comfort Associates.
Eimer, C. (2010). British Commemorative Medals and Their Values. London: Spink & Son Ltd.
Pollard, J. G. (1970). Matthew Boulton and Conrad Heinrich Küchler. The Numismatic Chronicle, 10, 259-318.
Vice, D. (1995). A fresh insight into Soho Mint restrikes & those responsible for their manufacture. Format Coins, Birmingham, 3-14.